Draco Malfoy and the Traitorous Marauder
by Iambic Brose
Summary: Draco Malfoy has survived his first two years of Hogwarts all over again and is now starting his third year. He's looking forward to the peace and quiet that comes with it. At least, he was, until his relationships become complicated, his cousin Sirius escapes Azkaban, and a strange black dog follows him to Hogwarts. Other than that though, it's going to be a perfectly normal year!
1. A Well Deserved Rest

**AN: Hey guys, welcome to the third fic! - Kit**

 **A/N: ...Okay! To our new readers, _STOP HERE!_ This is a part of an AU known as _Time Twister_. To avoid any further confusion, we ask that before you read this, you go ahead and hop over to the first fic, _Draco Malfoy and the Resurrection Stone_. Once you've done that, hop back over!**

 **Now that we're all caught up, I do have a little side note to make. Just... We've noticed that some of you have theorized that Harry is from Draco's proper time. Very interesting theory. ~Kas**

 **AN: Really? You're going to- I mean. Alright. Yeah. This is actually good- Yes. Okay. Right. Enjoy the fic, you guys, and yeah. It's- It's defintiely a theory, alright. - Kit**

* * *

"I know I said I'd tell you about living with the Dursleys, but..." Harry was pacing in front of Draco's bed, the two back at Malfoy Manor for the summer. It had only been a few days since they left Hogwarts and Draco thought that was plenty of time for Harry to have to himself, because he _needed_ to know this. He needed to know what he was dealing with. "You're not going to like it, Draco."

"What, you really believe I thought I _would_ like it?" Draco reached out to grab Harry's hand as he passed. "If you'd like… I'll tell you more. About before." That got Harry to finally pause, the child - soon to be teen, really - staring at him before giving a rough sigh.

"Fine- Fine. But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, okay? Not Ron, not Hermione, not your parents, not Severus, not _anyone_."

Draco opened his mouth before sighing. "Alright. I promise I won't tell anyone, but I do think you should talk to mother and father, or to Severus. Severus already knows the basics, by now, and said he'd be willing to lend an ear."

"Maybe one day, but right now I can barely bring myself to tell even _you_ about all of it." Harry moved to sit on the bed, staring at the floor and playing with his shirt ends. "What do you want to know first?"

"How about you start from the beginning. How it is you got landed with them." There was a sharp silence, a shudder rolling through Harry before he harshly scratched at the back of his head.

"I don't know- I don't _know_. You think my parents wouldn't put me with them if they knew how awful they were, but then they died and they were the only family I had left. I don't know. They said they got stuck with me."

"They... never said anything more than that?" Draco pushed Harry's hair back behind his ear. "What were they like in the beginning?" As he hoped, Harry stilled at the touch before completely leaning into it.

"I don't- I think they were kind?" Harry let his eyes shut, his voice getting softer. "Sometimes I think I remember Aunt Petunia rocking me to sleep and soothing me from a bad nightmare, but other times I think that was nothing more than a dream. Something I made up."

"Maybe it was your aunt. Maybe it was your mother. Remember, they are sisters." Draco hummed. "What about your uncle?" There was no answer forthcoming, Draco frowning and looking closer to see that Harry was... He was _afraid_. Draco dropped his hand to hold Harry's close. "I had a good relationship with my father in the beginning. I thought he was a hero, that he was going to change the world for the better. Sometimes I said things he disapproved of, and... he showed me I was wrong, but I knew it was because he wanted what was best for me. He told me Voldemort Imperiused him, controlled him to follow his command, and I ate it up. It wasn't until Hogwarts I realized he may have lied."

"He beat me." Harry's voice was whisper soft, the sound nothing but that of a scared child. "When I didn't do what he wanted, when I talked back, when I asked questions, when he thought I was too happy... He would beat me and lock me in my cupboard while my aunt just watched. No food, no water, no anything."

Draco paused, his thumb slowly stroking Harry's hand. "...And your cousin?" The laugh given was harsh and bitter and there was nothing kind about it.

"He thought it was a great game to play. 'Harry Hunting'. He and his friends would play it all the time."

"Harry..." Draco sighed. "I know you don't want to, but if you tell Dumbledore even a portion of what you just told me, he will never ask you to go back." Looking away, Harry was quiet - although he didn't let go of Draco's hand.

"They're my 'family', though. I'm a kid. He'll just say I'm exaggerating or something like every other adult I've ever told." He... He had told people all this before?

"Oh, Harry..." Draco finally pulled Harry into a hug. This child - no - this _person_ had been through so much, already, and he already had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I know I promised, but... Please. Please let me tell Sev, Harry. He won't stand for this. I won't do it unless you say I can, but-"

"But if I don't I really could end up going back there." Harry didn't shake, he didn't cry, his voice didn't waver, and he sounded nothing but tired as he finally sighed. "Alright. You have to, though. I don't think I can."

"Will you come with me when I do?" It took a moment before Harry nodded, relaxing into Draco's hug and settling closer. Draco rubbed at his back a few minutes more before finally withdrawing. "Alright. Ask me anything."

Pulling back, Harry studied Draco before giving a sharp nod. "Do you remember the answers to third year exams?"

Draco finally laughed. "N- Not quite. I didn't take half those classes, anyway." Still laughing, Draco felt Harry's palm cup his cheek, the younger finally smiling.

"There we go. You look much better when you're laughing." Shocked into silence, Draco stared at Harry, his hand warm against the blond's face. Harry's grin got even wider, the child laughing in sheer _delight_. "C'mon, then. Tell me everything- Well, everything that you can. Small things. The little things- What did you do for fun back then? Where did you go when you wanted to be alone? What was your favorite color? Who was your best friend? Who was your favorite teacher? I wanna know everything."

The questions forced a smile out of Draco, the teen chuckling softly. "I did plenty of things for fun. I played Wizard's Chess, I schemed, I would fly my broom, I plotted, and I talked with my friends. When I wanted to be alone, at first I would go out to the Great Lake, but about sixth year-" His voice hitched slightly, "I started talking with Myrtle in her bathroom. My favorite color was… red, though you can't tell anyone. Pansy would have had you believe that she was my best friend, but actually Blaise and I favored each other a bit more, though not in any romantic aspect, and I really needn't tell you my favorite teacher."

"It never hurts to check," Harry beamed, palm rubbing at Draco's cheek in a soft little motion that felt... It felt nice. Comforting. "You're not that different for as much as you act like it sometimes, you know. You still play chess, you still kind of scheme and plot, and you fly your broom and talk with your friends all the time. Although, I kind of hope you don't feel the need to be alone as much anymore."

"Not near as much, but… sometimes being alone can be nice," Draco said with a smile.

"Yeah, sometimes- Is red still your favorite color? And who's your best friend now?"

"Yes, red is still my favorite color, but I've started to be rather fond of blue. And I don't think I need to answer that one, either, you berk."

"Hey, didn't I just say it never hurts to check," Harry laughed, wrapping himself around Draco in a hug and burying close. It was rather adorable. "Hey, Draco... Were you- On the train, were you serious? About me not going back to them?"

"Completely, Harry. If we tell Severus, he'll make sure of it." Draco ran a hand through Harry's hair, speaking softly again. That... Draco was pretty sure that was the first time he had seen Harry _sob_ like that. He might have seen him cry before, but not break.

"Okay. Okay. We can tell him. I don't want to go back there, Dray. It hurts to be in that house." There was an edge to the voice that made it seem as if he was about to work himself up again.

Draco tried to calm him down, "Shh, it's okay. You're not going to go back. You're going to be okay. I won't let them take you." He had promised to protect Harry and he was damn well going to keep that promise.

"We need to tell Sev. If we don't tell him before summer's over, I don't think I'll ever tell him."

Draco nodded. "Okay. We'll go ask mother when he'll be here, alright? He likes to stay for a few weeks in the summer."

"Kay." Harry settled down against him, Draco feeling a tug to his robes. "Hey, Dray. I know it's hard on you and hurts a lot, but I'm so _glad_ you're here. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Pausing, Draco leaned back until he was laying on his back on the bed. "...If I hadn't come back, I don't know if I'd still be alive." Things had been so dark for him back then - so _pointless_. What was the point of a Slytherin Death Eater in a world that had despised everything he had been? There wouldn't have been one. If he hadn't found the time twister...

Feeling weight on top of him, Draco looked up to see Harry was sitting on him once more, hands braced on his chest and fierce expression on his face. "You're never going to feel like that again. No matter what happens, I'm going to make sure you never feel like that again."

"I know." Draco smiled up at Harry, cupping his cheek. "I just… needed to say it, I think." Harry leaned into the touch, smile back on his face.

"I can understand that." Staring for a moment, Draco gave a grunt as Harry flopped down on top of him, stretching out. "Enough sad stuff, let's go do something. We should go flying- It's summer, Dray, let's go flying. C'mon, we got all of _summer_ let's go do something fun we can-"

"Alright, alright," the blond laughed, pushing Harry gently as he sat up. "Harry, I..."

"Yeah?"

"...Nevermind," Draco finally told him with a smile. "Let's go."

"Bet I can beat you in a Seeker's Game," Harry grinned, already laughing as he scrambled off the bed.

"Oh, well we'll just see about that," he laughed, running after Harry, the two both finally acting like children.

::

Sweaty and covered in dirt, the two came back in, pushing at each other and all-around rough housing. Draco wasn't sure when they ended up running through the halls, but they eventually tumbled to a stop in front of an amused-looking Narcissa, the woman raising an eyebrow down at them, "I do hope you'll be changing before you come to dinner."

"Oh. Um, most likely- Oh! Mother! Do you know when Uncle Sev will be here?" Feeling a shove to his side, Draco happily shoved Harry back, startled a bit at Narcissa's sudden laugh.

"He'll be visiting with us later this summer, Draco. Most likely he'll arrive the time your Hogwarts letters do."

Draco gave a heavy, dramatic sigh. "But that's _so far away,_ mother."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to entertain yourself until then," Narcissa chuckled, patting each of them on the head before she was continuing on her way. "No mud at my dinner table."

"It's not mud, mother, it's a bright sunny day!"

"Then no dirt at my table!"

"Yes ma'am!" Draco grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him upstairs.

"So we have two months to figure out what to say to him," Harry said, letting himself be pulled along. "What should we say to him? I mean- We shouldn't tell him _everything_ , right?"

"More like a month at this point," Draco pointed out. "What we tell him is up to you. It's your story, not mine." He hoped Harry would at least tell Sev enough that he knew how _bad_ it had been for Harry.

"Kay." A tug to his hand, Harry speaking quietly. "You should let me draw you later." Draco smiled, holding his hand tighter.

"I'd love that."

"That's because you like to be at the center of attention," Harry teased, smile softening. "It also just is fun, I guess. I've never really been able to draw anyone like I have you."

"I also just like being your model. I can tell you really enjoy drawing."

"It was a way to pretend everything was alright for a while, I think." Letting Draco's hand go, Harry followed him into his room before rooting around Draco's closet - there were probably some of Harry's clothes in there, actually, now that he thought about it. "Like, I could get lost in drawing and pretend I was just a normal kid who would go home to normal parents."

"And now?" Draco stood a ways away, peering into the closet curiously. Harry was starting to gravitate more and more towards greens and silvers, which, Draco was not at all against that.

"Now I- I don't know? It's familiar to me, I guess. I mean, at first I started drawing at Hogwarts cause at least I knew how to do that. Magic? I still don't know half the time, but drawing was familiar. And then it started becoming about drawing you and that... That made it feel-" Harry cut himself off, shrugging and pulling down some robes. "I don't know. Better? More real? Safer, I guess."

"It's okay if you don't have the words. I understand what you mean." Draco walked over, taking his own robes off. "For me, magic has always been a constant. Wherever I go, I'll always be magic, and I'll always do magic."

"It's kind of weird, isn't it?" Harry was struggling with his own robes, looking to have gotten them tangled in his hair. "I mean, we're alike in a lot of ways, but we had such different childhoods."

"I like to wonder what would have happened if you grew up with your parents. If maybe we would have met sooner." Watching Harry for a moment, Draco sighed and moved to gently untangle the buttons from the teen's hair.

"I think if I had just grown up with my parents and we met on the train it would have gone a lot like it did with the Harry Potter in your time." That... That was probably true. "If we had met sooner, though, I like to think we could have been friends even then."

"I like to think so, too. But I have it on good authority that your father was a bit of a prat." Draco pulled on his own robes with a hum.

"Maybe," Harry shrugged, tugging his own on - well, Draco's on - and patting them down with a little nod. "I like your robes."

"Yes, so do I." Draco straightened Harry's robes out a bit before smiling. "There we are."

"It's kind of weird," Harry mused, relaxing under the small touches and fixes. "I don't think anyone's ever fussed over me before you- Like- Okay, maybe not fuss, but take care of me? You take care of me. It's- It's really nice."

Draco smiled at this. "I like to. And I think you deserve it."

"Right! Enough of talking. Let's go explore- We need to explore. I haven't seen all of the manor yet and we still have some time until we need to go eat, right?"

"Oh... Just a few minutes, I suppose." Draco took Harry's hand and led him out of the room. He had a feeling this summer was going to be one of his best yet.

::

Draco sat on Harry's bed, legs crossed. "There's something important I have to ask you." Harry, who had been digging through his trunk for something, paused and looked up at Draco very hesitantly.

"I- Yeah? Um, is it... A bad important thing?"

"No, no..." Draco looked him over. "Suit, or robes?"

"For- What? For what? Why am I being asked that?"

"Just answer, then I'll tell you."

"Oh, um... Suit, I guess?" Harry finally dug out the sketchbook he had been looking for. "Should I be running away?"

Draco wrinkled his nose before smiling. "I was just trying to figure out what to wear to your birthday ball. It's only a few weeks away, you know."

"Don't you always wear dress robes to the-" Harry cut himself off, eyes wide as he stared up at Draco. "What birthday ball?"

"The one mother is organizing right now. I thought I'd try something new." Draco only continued to smile at him.

"Wha- But- What if I don't _want_ a birthday ball?" Harry whined, looking utterly pathetic as he moved to sit on the bed beside Draco. "We should cancel. Right now."

"Harry, don't worry, it'll be small. Our friends, their family, us, a reporter from the Prophet or two," Draco murmured. Alright, the last part probably deserved the pathetic whine Harry gave.

" _Draco_."

"Think of it as your official debut to the Wizarding world! Don't worry, they're allies of my father's."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" Harry fell back onto his bed with a groan, sketchbook covering his face as he shook his head. "Okay, what if I just appear for a few minutes and then escape? Can I do that?"

"We'll talk it over later, Harry, there's plenty of time until then." Draco ran a hand through Harry's hair. "Didn't you say you were going to draw me?"

"That was before you distracted me with this betrayal," Harry huffed, tilting his head into the touch and giving a smile. "Utter and complete betrayal."

Draco nodded. "A bit of one." The kick to his side was a nudge more than anything, Harry pouting over at him. "Come on, then. Any pose you'd like."

"Okay." Harry sat up properly, pulling a pen out of his pocket and staring at Draco very intently. Draco rose an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak before Harry stopped him. "No, no, just stay there for a second." Harry tilted his head, narrowing his eyes and then moving to press a palm against Draco's cheek and tilt his head ever so gently to the right. Draco smiled at him, leaning into the touch with a quiet hum. "Any pose I want, right?" Harry grinned, pressing his palm closer. "Then just be yourself. Show me you."

"I don't think I exactly know how to do that," Draco laughed, bringing his hand up to press against Harry's, keeping it close. Harry's smile was soft and warm, Draco feeling the curious sensation of Harry's thumb rubbing against the skin.

"Can't hurt to try. Just... Relax. Don't be who you used to be, or who you pretend to be, but just act like you would when you're alone. No one else, just you."

"Harry... It's been a while since I've been able to do that." Looking down, he glanced back up when he felt more than saw Harry move, both of the younger's hands now cupping his cheeks.

"Let me help, then. Close your eyes and pretend you're at the Great Lake, okay? It's probably... Oh, let's say it's late fall. So all the leaves have fallen, it's starting to get cold, you're hiding behind your scarf, and it's just you by the Great Lake. You know how there's that smell in the air? That really cold, crisp one? It's like that. Just you, and the lake, and the sound of the waves it makes. I dunno, maybe you can hear people playing Quidditch over at the pitch, little quiet sounds of laughing and screaming, but right by the Great Lake, it's just you." Draco allowed his eyes to close as Harry spoke, smiling.

"You remind me so much of mother. She's a good storyteller, too." It was kind of easy to imagine, too. He had spent so much time by the Great Lake on his own that it was _easy_ to imagine everything that Harry was saying.

"Shush, you're supposed to be picturing it," Harry laughed, his hands slowly and carefully leaving Draco's cheeks. "So you're there, alone, sitting at the Great Lake and it's just you. What are you thinking about?"

It was easy to let the word slip from his lips like sweet honey before he could even think it through completely. "You." How could he not be constantly thinking about Harry? Not Potter - well, sometimes Potter, but really, he was often surprised by the differences between the two of them. Ever since he had come back to this time, it had been Harry that had become his entire world, often making him completely forget Potter's existence, sometimes forgetting the other time entirely.

"Okay... Okay." There was something warm in Harry's voice. Something that made Draco not think of the Great Lake so much as those nights spent in the common room staying up late and studying. Nights where the fire was going, the room was dark and warm, and Harry dozed against his shoulder, just awake enough to talk and whisper about every little thing that crossed his mind. "Good thoughts, I hope."

"Always."

"And you keep telling me people fear Slytherins." The hand was back on his cheek again, pressing lightly and warm and soft. "How can people be afraid when you're all soft and mushy."

"Only for you." Draco allowed his eyes to open as he smiled up at Harry.

" _Mushy_ ," Harry repeated with a huff, grin wide as finally opened up his sketchbook. "Okay, keep that image in your head for, um... Probably an hour, at least."

"Alright, alright, fine."

"Hey, Dray?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I'm really glad that we're one of the things you decided to change."

"I am, too. I don't know what I would have done." In the end, he would be absolutely lost if it wasn't for Harry Potter. He had to admit, though, he liked this _much_ better.

::

"We don't have to tell him right away, right? I mean, I know you said he's coming today, but we don't have to _tell him_ , right? I mean, I said this summer, but this feels way too soon."

Draco smiled at him. "No, we don't have to tell him today, but I'd like to at least go say hello."

"Okay, that- Yeah. He's probably worried after what happened right before the end of term with everything, actually. Yeah. We should go say hi- I mean, if you want me to come with you-"

"I'd love if you did, but I won't make you."

"I... I think I'd like that. Saying hi to him, at least."

"Then let's go, before his head is stuck in the steam, again."

"I'm sure he doesn't make potions that-" Harry paused, wrinkling his nose. "Nevermind. If he's anything like you, then he's probably already on his way to some kind of dungeon so he can lock himself away."

"Truly a flattering description, Mr. Potter."

"It is not a dungeon, it is a cellar, and at times, a laboratory." Alright, it was a little adorable how Harry quickly moved to hide behind him, looking very embarrassed.

"So you'd like to believe," Sev mused, smile twitching at his lips. "I see Mr. Potter is spending the summer with you once more?" Draco nodded eagerly.

"Will you be celebrating his birthday with us?"

"As if Narcissa would ever let me avoid it," Sev laughed, which, good. Harry could stand to see Sev outside of school where he was always worrying about his idiot students. "Your Hogwarts letters should be arriving in the next day or two, by the way."

"I suppose so. Are you doing any experiments later today?" Draco already knew it was a yes just by the look on Sev's face.

"I might be doing one or two you might be interested in." Sev glanced to Harry before continuing. "You're welcome to join us, Mr. Potter, if you wish. You might learn something your textbooks won't offer."

"Sev makes all sorts of improvements to potions that can't be found in most books," Draco explained.

"Oh. I- Yeah." Harry smiled up at Sev, Draco seeing tension start to leave his shoulders. "That would be really great if you don't mind, Professor."

"Then let's not dawdle, boys."

::

Draco was just starting to wake up when he felt a heavy weight ram into him, a groan not even escaping before he had parchment shoved in his face. "Our Hogwarts letters are here, Dray, wake up!" Draco groaned, slowly sitting up.

"Alright. Alright. 'M... I'm..." His bed was so warm... It wouldn't hurt to close his eyes just for a second more and lean back every so slowly-

" _Draco_!" Ah. Harry. "Our _letters_ Draco, our _letters_."

"Alright, alright," Draco finally gave in, rubbing at his eyes. "Hand it over." The letter was in his hand before he could properly clear the blurriness from his eyes. By the time he focused, Harry was eagerly opening his own letter, dumping it all out onto the bed. Draco stared before he frowned. "I thought you gave me my letter."

"I did? I mean, that one had your name on it, so pretty sure it's yours."

"Then why do you have two?"

"Oh. I do." Harry blinked, looking surprised before he picked up the thinner letter, opening it curiously. "Maybe it's something about the Chamber thing? But, no... You'd get one, too, in that case." Harry opened it with a huff, Draco watching the boy read it through before his face suddenly lost all color.

Draco frowned. That certainly couldn't be good. "Harry? Harry, what is it? What does it say?" He leaned over, setting a hand on top of Harry's.

Harry flinched back, breathing picking up as he dropped the letter and ran for the door. "Mrs. Malfoy! I need to talk to you!" Confusion and worry taking over, Draco ran after Harry, leaving their letters to flutter in their wake. He skidded into the office Narcissa was in, Harry halfway through a panicked explanation. "-told me that I had to go back to the Dursleys!"

" _What_?"

"I can't-" Harry was breathing rapidly and heavily, looking between Narcissa and Draco. "Please. Ple-ase. I can't go back there." Draco took Harry's hand into his own.

"Come on. We're going to Uncle Sev, this second." The only one who could say something like that would be Dumbledore. They needed Sev's help now.

"Dray." Merlin, was he crying? "Dray, don't let me go back."

Draco nodded. "I promised."

"Hasn't your father told you not to run- What's wrong? What happened?"

"Harry- He was just asked to go back to his relatives- Not mother and father, they would never-"

"Dumbledore," Sev muttered, shaking his head. "Luckily for you, Mr. Potter, he doesn't get a final say-"

"They beat me." Harry talked quickly, still shaking. "They beat me and starved me and locked me in a cupboard and please if I go back there they might kill me."

"You- You don't understand, I _promised_ Harry he wouldn't ever have to go back-"

Sev raised a hand for silence, looking between the two of them with a blank look. "Harry, you won't be going back to them unless you want to. I will speak to Dumbledore and make sure he understands the matter. Explicitly."

"Did he even say why," Draco finally asked Harry.

"He said it was safer for me there." The child- No... Harry couldn't even really be called a child anymore, could he? "He said I was _safer_. How could he- How could anyone ever- It's none of his _business_."

"Maybe he's got some sort of protection against Voldemort set there?" It seemed like something Dumbledore would do, at least.

"In a way he does," Sev spoke quietly, Draco looking back at him to see he looked- Oh. It had been a very long time since Draco had seen Sev look this angry. "It is not worth it, however, if the very place meant to keep him safe is what is putting him in such danger."

"You'll speak with Dumbledore," Draco finally asked with big round eyes. Because right now, even with all his knowledge, there was only so much he could do to help Harry. Going up alone against _Dumbledore_ didn't sound like the best of plans, either.

"I'll speak with him." Sev walked up to Harry, careful of not touching him, but getting his attention to look him in the eyes. "You will not be sent back there. You have my word."

Draco squeezed Harry's hand. "And mine." Harry looked between them before hesitantly nodding, the nod a stronger a second later. A deep breath and Harry was moving to give Sev a quick hug, Draco not sure if he or Sev were more surprised.

"Right! I should go reassure Mrs. Malfoy. She's probably worried." With that, Harry was quickly running off.

Draco looking at Severus, gave a nod. "Thank you, Uncle Sev, for... For _everything_ you've done," he said, quickly turning to follow Harry as he got misty eyed. That was probably another of the greatest gifts the Time Twister had given him. He got his family back along with his second chance.

He was going to make sure it didn't go to waste.


	2. Puzzled Pieces

**AN: WELL, I'm going to put this out there, if anyone is interested, I'm going to put our tumblrs in here. For those wanting any non-fic related information. You can follow me, Kas(ena) at cheshire-kas, and you can follow Nomi/Kit at Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter. Or, if you're interested our shared fic-tumblr (posting nearly exclusively just about our fics and updates and art) is Iambicbrose. We hope to see you there.**

* * *

"Summer isn't even halfway over really and it's already getting as complicated as a school year." Harry was morosely curled up in the middle of Draco's bed and playing with the letter that had arrived from Dumbledore.

"Not really," Draco tried to reassure him. "Uncle Sev will fix everything, then we can go back to preparing for the ball."

"Can't Dumbledore order me back there, though? They're still my legal guardians," Harry muttered, pulling over the Hogsmeade permission slip and sighing at it.

"Just... Everything will be okay on your birthday, Harry, alright?" Draco didn't want to spoil the 'surprise' his parents were planning, after all. Still, he could at least reassure Harry a little.

"My birthday?" Harry frowned, finally looking up at him. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Just wait a few days, okay?" Draco reached over to take Harry's hand.

"Okay." Harry tightened the hold for a moment before sighing and getting up. "I'm going to go start on my homework in the library. I need to catch up on Charms and History of Magic pretty badly."

"Alright. I'll be here if you need help with anything." Draco sent him a warm smile, trying to relax on the bed as much as possible. It was worth it to have Harry send him a grateful smile, Draco watching him leave the room before sighing. It was good that Harry got some alone time to think things through on his own, but Draco couldn't help but worry about him. Hm. Narcissa might need help finalizing Harry's 'present'. Draco rose to his feet and left the room in search of his mother.

It didn't take long to find her, the woman in her own little office and studying the various papers for all the committees she 'volunteered' for. Really, it was laughable how people thought she _didn't_ have as much control as Lucius. "Hello, darling. I take it Harry is doing a bit better?"

"A bit, yes. I came to ask after his present. Everything, I assume, is ready and prepared?" Draco walked over and pulled up a chair to sit beside her. A glance at all the parchment showed everything was just about in order.

"It will be by tomorrow at the very latest, I believe. I just need to get a few more people to sign off on everything," Narcissa smiled, taking her reading glasses off and setting them down gently. She looked tired. "Considering how we found him the summer before your second year... I won't let him be hurt any longer."

"He was _begging_ Uncle Sev and I to not send him back," Draco said softly. "What if they hurt him in ways we can't heal?" He had known from the start that there were differences already in this timeline and his, and it wouldn't surprise him if Harry's upbringing was even worse than Potter's. To think he had mocked him for it, too.

"I'm afraid that's something we won't find out for a while, Draco. For now we just need to give him time and space to heal." Draco sighed and leaned against her.

"Yes, mother..." Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he glanced up at her a bit shyly. "Tell me about cousin Sirius again." Laughing, Narcissa mused his hair.

"Haven't I already told you about him?" Yes, well, it was starting to get important now. "Oh, let's see... I find I remember telling you how magnetic he was. He burned brighter than any of the Blacks put together, that was certain."

"But mother, you're a Black," he pointed out. That earned him a startled little laugh, Draco grinning at the sound.

"Quite the charmer, aren't you? Alright, then, tell me what else you want to know about Cousin Sirius."

"Well... Well he was Gryffindor, wasn't he? Tell me about that. And about his friends." Harry's father, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin.

"Oh, the Marauders." The what now? Draco felt like he may have heard that name once, but he wasn't certain. "They were quite the troublemakers in their time. The four of them were always running around, getting into mischief, and often finding themselves in the most dangerous situations in Hogwarts." Here, Narcissa gave him a very judgemental look.

"Is that so? I'm certain they were given very harsh scolding, no doubt. Was McGonagall still Head of House?" That was quite the parallel to make, though.

"She was. Sirius had three best friends. Let's see, they were... Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, I believe, and... James Potter."

Draco only gave a nod. "You mentioned all that - How did they meet? Did they all know each other?"

"Oh, they met on the train, surely," Narcissa nodded. "There was no other chance for them to meet before Hogwarts. They suited each other rather nicely, I think."

Draco nodded. "I think so, too... Sirius. He was a Black, but he sorted into Gryffindor."

"Rather like someone else I know," Narcissa chuckled. "Gryffindor was the best house he could have ever gotten. He _flourished_ in that house. I... I rather regret I treated him like any other Slytherin would. He was always my favorite cousin."

"You mean like a blood traitor," Draco said softly.

"Yes." The two were quiet for a moment before Narcissa's hand carded through his hair softly. "You know neither of us think that of you, Draco. Yes, we had hoped for you to go into Slytherin, but oh, darling. I'm so proud of how far you've come and how well you're doing. Just like Sirius, Gryffindor was the best choice for you."

"I still have to wonder if that's true." Draco leaned against her. "Mother, I fought against the hat so hard and argued so much for Slytherin. I really did try to get Sorted there."

"Oh, darling." Narcissa pulled him even closer, kissing the side of his head. "Before we drifted apart, Sirius came to me the first night after the sorting. He fought with the hat, too." He... He what? "That was the last time we really spoke, and I said things I regret, but he fought just as hard to get Slytherin. He didn't, though, and he became so much better for it." The arm around him tightened, Narcissa's voice lowering. "Whatever happened with the night Harry's parents died... I don't think it was Sirius. I haven't for one second. He and James were as close as you and Harry."

"But he came from a dark family. So everyone expected him to turn and to betray his-" Draco found it too difficult to speak around the lump in his throat, instead turning his head in towards her.

"Coming from a dark family doesn't make you dark, Draco. Is Harry anything like his relatives?" Narcissa held Draco close, the warmth something he had missed more than words could describe.

"Well, no- Well- But that's different." Draco sighed and asked her what he'd been wondering for two years. "Why didn't father strike me off the family tree?"

The silence that greeted him told him more than any truth would in that moment. "I promised myself I wouldn't lie to you, and I do believe he was considering it, but then he remembered that it was _you_. The same little boy that adored him and followed him around like a crup puppy and always wanted to be like him. The same little boy he swore to protect the day you were born. There's- There's been mistakes in your father's past, Draco. In both of our pasts. We're doing our best to fix them, but it's slow going. He didn't 'strike you off the family tree', as you put it, because this is a chance for us to become better than what our parents wanted. For _all_ of us to become better."

"That's why I wrote you so quickly after I was sorted. I didn't want to be disowned." Draco finally wrapped his arms around her. "Shouldn't father hate Harry?"

"I think he's grateful to him, if anything." Narcissa smiled, hugging Draco back tightly. "I feel so bad for that child and all he's gone through, but he's the one who gave the entire Wizarding World a second chance. He's our hope." Draco nodded his assent to this.

"He helped save us." It was because of Harry Potter that _everyone_ was saved - even the Death Eaters. No matter what, Harry played such an important role in this world, didn't he?

"That he did." Narcissa smiled, patting at the parchment on her desk. "Now it's our turn to help save him."

"I- I _want_ to tell you what all they did to him, but it's his story to tell. Not mine."

"I understand that perfectly, darling. I'll listen if he wants to tell me, but if he wishes then his secrets are his to keep." Giving Draco one last squeeze, Narcissa stood up. "Now, I believe I should be getting these down to the Ministry."

"Yes, mother," Draco said softly, standing and pulling her into another hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, darling." The hug he was given was tight, Narcissa holding him for a long few moments before finally letting him go. "Right. I'll see you two at dinner."

"Right. Of course." He gave her a nod before quickly turning and leaving. He made his way to the library, knocking on the door and poking his head in. "Harry? Is it alright if I come in?"

"I'm near the window!" Ah, he was fond of the window- Oh, dear. Maybe Draco and Hermione had been a little too hard on Harry and his study habits if he was surrounded by this many books.

"Harry," he said softly, looking around at the books, tilting his head at the titles. Family Trees and Relations of the Wizarding World; Great Magical Heroes of the Twentieth Century; History's Greatest Wizards, A Remastering Addition? What had him so interested in all that? "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just doing some light reading." Light? These books were easily 1500 pages at the very least. "What's up?"

"Nothing, just- Can I sit with you?" Draco moved his hands in front of him, looking down and startled to see he was twisting his cuff link. He thought he had broken that habit, all things considered. He hadn't developed it until a little after fourth year, after all.

"Yeah- Yeah, of course." Harry smiled, looking distracted even as he pushed a chair out for him. Draco sat down in the chair, scooting it a bit closer to Harry. He didn't move to touch him, he didn't say anything, he simply sat and thought about everything he had discussed with his mother. There had been a lot to talk about, though. Was this timeline really so different from his, after all? Maybe in little things, but not in how people acted and how their personalities were, perhaps. This was all so complicated some days.

There was one thing that still didn't make sense. Why was it that his father was so kind to Harry? Harry stood for everything his father was against - the light side, muggle blood and pureblood together, pure _morals._ Why wasn't he planning a way to kill him for his 'Lord?' Unless... Maybe Lucius really had been against the ideals of Voldemort- Or maybe it was more he was against the killing. Even now Draco could tell Lucius still spat on the idea of muggles and wizards interacting and still hated the idea of 'mudbloods'. It wasn't as bad as Draco's time, but still... Feeling a touch to his knee, Draco startled, looking up. "Are you alright?"

"Oh. Um, yes- I think so, at least." The look he was given wasn't a very convinced one. "I just- I had a talk with mother, and it gave me a lot to think about."

"You're not the only one with a lot to think about, if it helps," Harry huffed, the sound close to a laugh as he leaned his head on Draco's shoulder. "Growing up is kind of complicated."

"...Oh _bloody hell,_ " Draco groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "I'm now of courting age."

"Courting?" Harry frowned, scrunching his nose up. "Like medieval dating?"

"Somewhat- It- It's hard to explain, when you're not raised pureblood."

"I'm willing to listen if you want to tell me more about it," Harry smiled, leaning against Draco a bit more. "C'mon, I need to learn all this eventually, right? I mean... It's my world now, too."

Draco sighed. "Courting is... It's different than 'dating.' Courting is the mutual agreement that the two of you wish to be romantically involved and married at a later date. Not necessarily a betrothal, but harder to break off than just 'dating.'"

"So it's like somewhere in between," Harry nodded, giving a little frown. "That does sound kind of complicated. Why is it harder to break off? Because it means so much?"

"Yes, because like I said, it begins as an agreement that you two will likely marry. There must be witnesses both for the courting proposal and the separation, if such a thing happens. Courting partners, in this world, are treated very similarly to spouses."

"That sounds like a potential for disaster- You said you're courting age? Isn't that kind of young to be thinking about marriage and all that?"

"Not for purebloods. For us... It's always about keeping the name going, and keeping the name within magical blood. Arranged marriages aren't uncommon. Mother and father were an arranged marriage, actually."

"Really?" Harry looked like he was going to argue against that before he could see the moment he paused and thought about it. "I wouldn't have thought that with how they act around each other. I guess arranged stuff isn't so bad for some people?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes arranged marriages happen and the two never fall in love, or sometimes they do. I'm glad that mother and father did." Draco smiled. "If it weren't for how bold she is with her opinions, I think Pansy and I would have been betrothed."

"I guess I could see that. I think. Seeing you with anyone is kind of weird." Harry turned back to one of his books, nudging Draco. "Did you have any crushes on anyone in your time?"

"I did," Draco answered simply, moving to lean against him. The silence was peaceful and warm - comfortable. Draco could easily-

"Who was it? I mean, was it more than one person?"

"No. It was just the one."

"Pansy- Wait, no, you said you weren't with Pansy." Harry suddenly set a hand on his shoulder, giving him a very serious look. "Just tell me it wasn't Blaise. You're better than that, Dray-"

Draco smiled over at Harry. "It wasn't." It was a long moment of Harry giving him a suspicious look before he rolled his eyes and went back to his reading, shifting and moving so he was spread out across two chairs. It was a little bit adorable. "I did court someone near the end there, though."

"Someone whose name you won't be telling me, I'd guess." Harry frowned at something in the book, huffing as he dragged another on into his lap. "You wizards have a stupid way of organizing information."

"It's just a way you're not used to. What are you looking for?"

"I don't know at this point." Harry snapped the book shut, tossing it back up on the table.

"How about we head back to your room and take a nap? Today feels like a lazy day."

"I... Yeah. A lazy day sounds great." Harry pushed the other book back onto the table, Draco catching a glimpse of seeing it was the book on family heritages and it was on the page of... Of the Potters. "I mean, it's summer, after all." Draco looked back to him, smiling and holding his hand. He led the two back to Harry's room with a soft hum.

It was rather nice, actually. The room was lit by the afternoon sun that made everything feel soft and lazy, Harry yawning as he crawled onto the bed and stretched out right in the middle, fingers curling as he stretched. Chuckling softly, the blond nudged him. "Budge over, give me some room." Draco curled up next to him, humming quietly in the back of his throat. His eyes drifted shut as he felt Harry worm his way under one of his arms, curling up against his chest and sighing softly, tension draining out of him. "We should have more days like this," Draco whispered.

"More days like this sounds great." Harry's voice was just as quiet, the younger nuzzling under his chin and pressing closer. "Really, really great." Draco pulled him closer, running a hand through his hair. It was nice to dote on Harry - Merlin knew the child had a lot to make up fro when it came to such things. Besides, this really was nice when it was just the two of them relaxing like this. Draco yawned, flicking his wand to draw the curtains as he curled up further. A nap could never go amiss. "Hey, Dray?"

"Yeah, Harry?" There was a small tug to his shirt, Harry's voice still as soft as a whisper as he pressed closer.

"I love you."

Yawning again, the blond tightened his hold, burying his nose in the younger hair. "Mhm. Love you too," he mumbled. He heard a quiet laugh before arms wrapped around him, Harry's voice nothing but warm and delighted.

"Night, Dray."

::

"I don't think Ron's gonna be making it to the ball." What? Oh, no, Draco would just- A newspaper clipping from the Daily Prophet showed a picture of the entire Weasley family in _Egypt_. "His dad won some grand prize drawing at work so they went to visit Bill. You know, one of the million Weasleys."

"Bill, Bill, Bill... Oh." The one Fenrir had... "I've never met him personally, but I know of him." If things continued, perhaps the attack of the Death Eaters at the school would never happen. Fenrir would never attack Bill.

"Maybe we'll meet him one day," Harry mused, reading through the newspaper with other letters spread out in front of him. "Oh, Hermione said she's still in France, but she'll try to visit before the end of summer. She beat your scores by one point, apparently, and per your deal she wants full access to your family library."

"What did that sneaky little harpy bribe them with?! I answered every extra credit point possible, and then some!" Draco groaned, kicking the wall of the bedroom. It was hard to stay angry when Harry was smothering giggles into his hands, looking far too amused.

"It was probably a spelling error knowing your luck. What were you going to ask her if you won, anyways?"

"To admit that I was better than her."

"I think that's going to take a while, at this rate," Harry grinned, gently folding up the letters he had read and tucking them away. "So, any chance I could skip out on the ball tonight? Maybe run away in the dead of night?"

" _Harry,_ " Draco huffed, crossing his arms. "You can't - Oh."

"Oh?"

Draco picked up the Daily Prophet. "I didn't realize that happened today." Sirius Black had escaped. He knew that Sirius was going to be an important figure in Harry's life, but he had forgotten that had happened _today_.

"What?" Harry leaned over to see the Prophet, frowning. "Who's Sirius Black?"

"My cousin - Well, cousin once removed. He's mother's cousin."

"Oh, yeah. Your mom's name is Black." Harry tugged the paper down so he could read it, giving a frown. "Why'd he get put away? Was he another follower of Voldemort?"

"He was accused of killing Peter Pettigrew, as well as twelve muggles." Ah, perhaps he shouldn't let Harry read the paper. It would just cause more complications. Unfortunately, before he could grab it, Harry was moving it so he couldn't and frowning.

"'Supposed best friend of the Potters, Black betrayed James and Lily Potter to You-Know-Who-'"

"That was part of my discussion with mother. She doesn't believe a bit of it. She said that Cousin Sirius and your father were as close as the two of us."

"Then why does everyone think he did it?" Harry paused, sitting up and narrowing his eyes. "This happened last time."

Draco sighed. "Because he's a Black. It's the same reason that people who didn't really know us wouldn't be surprised if I did anything to you."

"Yeah, well, those people are idiots- Ah." Now he got it. "Did he escape in your time, then? Is that why you aren't worried? Because you're usually worried when someone claims to be out to kill me."

"Yes, he did," Draco said with a nod. "I'm not going to lie to you about anything."

"I know you won't," Harry smiled, pulling Draco over to sit back down on the bed with him. "So he's not out to kill me and he's been in prison for... I guess twelve years. Why did he break out now?"

"That is the real question," Draco hummed. "Why wait? Why today of all days?" It didn't make sense for it to happen out of nowhere... Maybe he heard something about Voldemort gaining strength while he was in Azkaban? It was possible, at least.

"Maybe he just finally figured out to escape this wizard prison place."

"Perhaps, but I highly doubt it would have taken twelve years." Draco stood again, walking to the closet. "Come on, we need to get ready."

"But- But it's barely past breakfast! We have _hours_ until the ball tonight!"

"Yes, exactly. It'll take me three hours to get ready, then another two to get _you_ ready."

"Wha- It'll only take me five minutes to get ready! I just need to throw on my suit or whatever and then I'm good to go. Maybe I'll brush my hair," Harry mused, looking contemplative. "Maybe."

" _Harry!_ " Draco could not believe this. Was this really _his_ Harry? Where was his cute, sweet Hary who cared about how he looked and was becoming a Slytherin more and more by the day?

"What? Ooh, if I just show up in my school robes or something maybe your mom will lock me in my room and ground me and I'll never have to go to another ball again!"

"Harry, please, stop or I may weep." Draco got out his suit. "I'm going for a shower."

"I'll see you in two hours, then," Harry laughed, grabbing his own suit where it had been placed next to Draco's. "I'll get ready in my room and then you can nitpick when you get out, okay?"

"No, no, just... go wait for me."

"I know how to put on a suit, Dray."

"Go wait, Harry."

"Fine," Harry huffed, hanging his suit back up carefully and heading for the door. "I'm going to the library, then, since you're going to take so long."

"I'll come get you when I'm ready!" Now... He needed to dress to impress.

::

"Harry?"

"In the back!" Draco smiled and walked to Harry's usual corner.

"Time to get you ready." There was a dramatic sigh as Harry looked up, words looking to die on his tongue as he suddenly _blushed_. Just what was that all about? Draco tilted his head and frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I- Yeah. Yeah." Harry didn't look okay. "I just- It's kind of rude, isn't it? Showing me up at my own birthday ball and all that? Really, Dray, you're going to show up _everyone_ at the rate you're going."

Draco felt his face warm, though he smiled again. "You think this is good? Wait until I'm done with you." Cute. Harry thought hiding behind his book was going to save him. How very mistaken he was. Walking over, Draco took his hand. "Come on. Let's go."

"You're going to be the end of me," Harry sighed, letting himself be pulled up before he was looking Draco over, cheeks still flushed and hair even messier than normal. "You really do look amazing, Dray."

"I do try my best." Draco dragged him back to their rooms. "First, go take a shower. Oh! And hang your suit in the bathroom!"

"Why would- Oh. I suppose steam would probably do something to it, wouldn't it? Like, get rid of any creases, maybe?" Draco _beamed_ at him.

"Yes, exactly." His little Slytherin had come so far! Now they just needed to get him dressing on his own, but for now Draco supposed he could still take care of things.

"Alright, alright," Harry sighed, taking the suit down and walking towards the bathroom. "I'll be done in ten minutes."

"Harry, you can _not_ get properly clean in ten minutes!"

"Yes I can!"

"Harry!"

The child gave him a wink before he was laughing and closing the door, Draco unable to bring himself to really even be upset - unless he somehow managed to wrinkle the suit in the _ten_ minutes he would be gone. Honestly. Draco sat carefully on Harry's bed, looking around the room. They needed to get him some decorations.

It was so _bare_ in here. It still looked like a guest room. The only real difference was a few of Draco's clothing pieces in the closet and Harry's trunk at the end of the bed. Everything else was neatly tucked out of sight or organized carefully on the desk. It was like Harry was scared to make a mess at times.

Draco paused before beaming. He knew what to do. He walked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it. "Harry? Can I pretty please get you to stay in there for an extra half hour? I have a last minute birthday present for you I need to put together!"

"Hm? Mhm." Hm, steam was already coming out so Draco was going to assume Harry was sleeping under a very hot shower. Draco opened up the door between their two rooms. Now, he'd been given Slytherin things for Christmas first year as well as Gryffindor, equally, and he was going to use every single thing.

When the bathroom door finally opened, Draco was standing on Harry's bed, pinning the Slytherin scarf to the front board of the canopy. "Oh, there you are! I was wondering if you'd drowned!"

"I, ah..." Harry, wearing a loose bathrobe, was looking around the room with wide eyes before looking back to Draco. "Are you taking over my room? Because if you wanted more space you could have just told me."

"No, no, I just realized your room was a little melancholy, so I thought I would help decorate." He had done quite a good job if he did say so himself.

"My room... My room." Harry's voice was quiet, looking around the room before he let his fingertips drag against the worn wool of one of the sweaters. "I like it."

"Good. I worked hard on it, you berk. You could stand to be more appreciative." He barely even finished before he was almost knocked over by the force of the hug he was given, Harry hugging him tightly and- Oh. A hand was in his hair. That wasn't too bad, really.

"Thank you, Dray. I love it- I really, _really_ love it."

Draco laughed, hugging him back just as fiercely. "I'm glad you do."

"It's great- Perfect. You know, you should show me everything you did and tell me why you did it. In detail. It's okay if it takes hours."

" _Or_ you can go put on your suit, and I can put on the finishing touches."

"I thought I wasn't _allowed_ to put on my suit," Harry raised an eyebrow, finally letting Draco go and heading back to the bathroom. "You were very upset about the thought."

"Well, just make sure you do it right!" He didn't need Harry's suit getting wrinkled after it had just got flattened out!

"Don't worry, Dray," Harry smirked. "I learned from the best, right?"

Draco smiled. "I suppose you did."

It seemed he learned a little _too_ well as it was near an _hour_ and Harry still hadn't come out of the bathroom. Draco was starting to wonder if the other had fallen asleep - ah, no, there was another quiet swear. Draco frowned and knocked. "Harry? Are you okay in there?"

"I'm fine! Just finishing up." As he had said half an hour ago. "Um, you can- You can come in if you want? I kind of want your opinion, anyway. Maybe you can help."

Draco opened the door, raising an eyebrow. "Was...there a silent explosion, in here?" It seemed like a _wreck_ \- and that was rather saying something, all things considered.

"No, I just- I'm trying to do my hair." Oh. Oh! That- Did he have _curls_? Harry had curls. He had _curls_. Draco gasped softly, stepping forward and holding Harry's face in his hands.

"Is this what it always looks like right after you properly wash it?"

"Not at all," Harry huffed, relaxing into the hold with a quiet hum. "It's usually even more curly right after I brush it after showering, right now I'm just trying to _straighten_ it."

"Hang- Hang on," Draco said with a shake of his head. "I can make it better." Letting go of Harry, he looked around. "Where's a comb?"

"I don't use combs. They break." Harry offered up a brush. "You can use this." Draco searched through the drawers and pulled out a comb.

"Do you straighten your hair every morning?" The sudden blush on Harry's face told Draco quite a bit.

"My hair doesn't look good with curls. It looks... It looks stupid. Everyone always says so, so I make sure it's either tangled or straight."

Draco gently rubbed under Harry's eye with his thumb, once again cupping his face. "Harry?"

"Ye- Yeah?" Harry gave a small shudder, looking up at Draco with wide, curious eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Close your eyes and trust me." Draco made sure to keep his voice soft, rubbing at the skin and smiling as Harry shut his eyes and tilted his head towards him at once. "Alright. This might take a while, and I might tug on your hair a bit, but I promise you it'll be worth it." He was going to make it so Harry never straightened his hair, again.

"It's okay, Aunt Petunia used to brush my hair to straighten it out. I got good at blocking out the pain." Harry kept his eyes closed, smile appearing anyways. "'Sides, I trust you won't hurt me. Not you."

"Well. Never say never."

"Well, I trust that if you do it's for a reason."

"I'm also going to put a bit of makeup on you."

"Wha- Draco!"

"You said you trusted me, Harry."

"You're horrible." Harry was grinning and laughing anyways, relaxing as Draco tugged him around to start work on his hair. "Hey, Dray... If I have to dance tonight, can it be with you?"

"Harry, of course we're going to dance together," he laughed. "How do you think you're going to kick it all off?" Oh, he was definitely combing Harry's hair more.

"Yeah, but..." Harry opened his eyes slowly, looking up at Draco and giving a smile that could only be called nervous and shy. "Can you be the only one I dance with tonight?"

"...Oh. Well, sure," he said with a smile. "That sounds wonderful."

"Perfect. Now, make me look good."


	3. Birthday Wishes

"Can I open my eyes now?"

Draco put on the final touch, applying just a touch of blush to Harry's cheeks. "Wait... And... Now."

Watching as Harry took a deep breath and opened his eyes, Draco saw his eyes go wide as he stared in the mirror at himself. Slowly - so slowly - Harry brought his hand up to touch his curls. "This... What spell did you _use_ on my hair?"

"Just a simple charm to get them to stay in place. Unless you'd like me to take it off. It might look better when we're dancing." Draco fluffed out a few of the curls, grinning and, yes, he was certainly going to be taking care of Harry's hair in the future.

"No, I mean- These can't be naturally curly like this- They look- They don't look bad. They can't be mine."

Draco laughed, wrapping his arms around Harry's shoulders where he stood behind the younger. "Amazed what a little T.L.C. can do?"

"T.L.- Wait, what? What's that supposed to mean?" Harry frowned, leaning back into Draco and still studying his hair.

"T.L.C," he repeated. "Tender love and care." There was still that blank stare and had... Had he never really heard of even _that_ simple phrase? "It means treating something with care and a gentle hand."

"Oh." Harry looked up at Draco, giving a grin. "So it's how you treat me, then." Draco smiled, running a hand through Harry's hair.

"I suppose it is."

"You know we're probably going to be late if we don't hurry up," Harry grinned, finally moving from the mirror and grabbing Draco's hand. "C'mon, then, do I look decent enough to pass?"

"You look beautiful." Aw, the younger still blushed at compliments. Draco was rather hoping that would happen for a while longer.

"R-Right! Let's go, then. Don't wanna be late."

Draco laughed as he followed after Harry. "Hang on, we don't go that way."

"This is the way to the ballroom, isn't it?"

"Perhaps if you don't want to make a grand entrance, but you're the guest of honor, so let's go."

"You're going to be having everyone look at me, aren't you?" Harry grumbled, following after Draco and knocking their shoulders together. "Shouldn't I get a birthday gift of not making a prat of myself?"

"You won't. Just follow me." Draco led him to the doors just outside the grand staircase. Pausing suddenly, he turned to Harry and began to poke and prod. "Head up, shoulders back, stomach in, walk confidently." After a moment, he added, "And smile."

"I don't think I can remember all of that." Harry took a breath, looking at the doors before giving a nod. "I can't promise on the smile, but I'll do my best."

"If there's only one thing you do, smile. It's one of your best qualities." Well, a laugh hadn't been what he was aiming for, but it did get Harry to give a bright, happy smile.

"Alright, alright. Can we go in, now?"

Draco looked him over, brushing a curl back with a soft smile. "You're ready." With that, he was pushing the door open widely. Another deep breath and Harry was looking as calm as he would when it was just him and Draco, smile soft on his face and head held up high.

"Catch me if I start falling down the stairs," Harry mumbled, looking out at the guests. "That's a lot of people."

"You'll be just fine." Draco held his hand and the two began to walk out as one. The decorations were some of the best yet, a tasteful mix between Gryffindor and Slytherin and there were even less guests than there might normally be. Most likely his mother's attempts to reassure Harry since he was still so nervous around people. "When we get to the bottom, we'll bow, and then dance."

"Just help me not look like an idiot." Oh, an idiot was the last thing Harry was going to look like when the night was over. Once they reached the bottom, Harry followed his lead and bowed in exact unison with him before turning to fall into position for the dance, offering a smile.

Draco smiled and held Harry's hand again, his other resting on his shoulder. "You have to lead." There was a huff of breath as Harry pouted at him before taking the proper position, tugging Draco closer before giving him a nod.

"Next time, try to warn me ahead of time, yeah?"

"But it's a bit fun, at least," he said with a smile. "You look dazzling."

"That's all because of you," Harry laughed, carefully leading Draco around the ballroom and occasionally looking down to check their feet. "Let me know if I step on you, okay?"

"Don't discount yourself. I can only do so much. You had these looks hiding underneath it all." There was only a quiet hum, Harry now more focused on their steps and _honestly_. Hadn't he taught him better by now? "Harry, look up."

Blushing, Harry looked up, "I just don't want to step on your feet. In case you don't remember, I'm not that good at dancing."

"Hush, you're wonderful." Draco smiled at him. "You're doing great."

"Only because you're here," Harry smiled back, shifting a bit closer before his grin turned wide. "I'm gonna spin you now."

"Harry is that such-" Too late. Harry was guiding Draco into a spin, Draco just barely relaxing in time before he was spun back into Harry's arms, much closer than before and, oh. Was he taller? Harry was about an inch or so taller than him. Draco didn't like that. Draco couldn't help a quiet laugh, re-adjusting his grip. "That was much better than I thought it would be."

"You should have more faith in me," Harry smirked, twirling them around the room and much more relaxed. "Now please tell me the dance is about to end soon."

"On the next turn, we part, still holding hands, and bow again. Then we can begin another dance, or we can take a break."

"Break sounds like a very good way to escape," Harry pointed out. "Right, okay. Turn, part, hold hands, bow, escape. That right?"

"Yes," Draco told him with a smile. "Right... About... Now." Beautifully on cue, Harry turned them before parting the same time as Draco, bowing and smiling _perfectly_. After they stood, Harry offered his arm with another smile before leading them off the dance floor and getting lost in the crowd. When they got to a relatively dark corner, Harry _slumped_ and clutched his chest.

"That was awful."

"Harry, you did _wonderfully._ If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd grown up on this." Draco nudged him slightly. "You really were great. And you look amazing."

"I suppose it wasn't all that bad." Harry's face was flushed from the dancing and he looked to still be catching his breath. "There's a lot of people in here, though."

"Not really," Draco hummed. "The room seems almost _bare._ " That earned him a huff and a light shove, Harry grinning anyways.

"Do I get to eat at my birthday ball, then, or am I going to go starving?"

Draco tugged him along. "Come on, the buffet table is over here."

"The... The what?"

"The _buffet table-_ Oh. Bonjour, grand-mère Rosette. How is your evening?"

"Draco, darling, it's so good to see you again." Grandmother Rosette was a bit forceful of a woman, but she was nice enough to Draco, he supposed. He hadn't seen her in some years, actually. "I was so delighted to get tonight's invitation."

"Well, of course. You're always invited, grand-mère." Draco smiled, giving her a small bow. "Grand-mère, this is Harry Potter, my best friend. Harry, this is Grandmother Rosette, from mother's side."

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Harry mimicking Draco's small bow, smile on his face. "Draco's mentioned you fondly to me quite a bit." Oh? "I have to say, it really _is_ nice to finally put a face to the name."

"Mother _was_ so glad when you accepted the invitation, of course. We know it is difficult for you to make it out here very often." Ah, his little Slytherin had come so far! Draco was so proud.

"Of course dear. Family is so important, after all. Oh, it's a shame your Auntie Bella couldn't be here... She would have loved to have been a part of your life while growing up." Draco shifted a bit to hold Harry's hand, giving a hesitant nod.

"I'm sure she would have, Grand-mère. Mother often speaks fondly of her." Hopefully his grandmother was sensitive enough to soon move off of this topic...

"Oh, of course! My dear Bella was always such a headstrong little thing, but she had the right ideas. All us Blacks are skilled in finding those of _true_ worth to follow." She... Was she really saying all of this? In front of _Harry_ , of all things? "Oh, we always have our black sheep, but even your cousin Sirius got it right in the end."

Draco's eyes narrowed as he shifted to stand closer to Harry. "I suppose you're right, grand-mère. We _do_ find those of true worth to follow."

"I'm glad you agree." They knew _nothing_. How had he not seen that sooner? "I should get back to your mother. It was nice to meet you, Harry."

"It was nice to meet you as well, ma'am. I hope you enjoy the rest of the night." Draco remained silent as the woman left them, gripping Harry's hand in his own tightly. It was a moment before Harry spoke. "Were- Um, were you speaking another language in the beginning there?"

"Huh? Oh. Yes, French. It's very common in the Black family." He couldn't believe that she had just- Who _did_ that! That was so inappropriate!

"R-Right." Draco sighed, tugging Harry close.

"Sorry about that. Grand-mère has always been a bit more..."

"Oh, no, no, that was fine. I'm used to dealing with people like that. Um, right, so, we were going to get something to eat, then?"

"Right. Come on, to the buffet."

"So, you speak French, then? How much?"

"Oh, I'm fluent enough, though I suppose I am behind on the newer terms and slang."

"Fluent, huh? Prove it."

" _I feel no need to prove something that is already fact._ " Heh, it was always nice to see Harry when he was looking impressed. His cheeks were still a bit red, though - they should probably get him something to drink soon. "Come on," Draco laughed. "Let's sit down for a bit."

"Yeah- Right. Yes. That sounds good. That- Yeah. Hey, were Blaise and Pansy able to make it?"

"Funny you ask that, Harry darling." Pansy had already wormed her way between the two, arms wrapping around Harry and hugging him tightly.

"Oh, so it's like that 'speak of the devil and they appear,'" Harry laughed, relaxing against the hug. "Blaise around too, then?"

"He's talking to Theo over there," she hummed. "Harry dear, can we talk?"

"Way to worry me," Harry snorted, shaking his head as he tugged her along. "Alright, come on, let's talk about whatever you want to complain about now. Be right back, Dray."

"I'll keep your seat warm," Draco reassured him, watching the two curiously as they walked off. Just what could Pansy have to talk with Harry about? If it was about a present she got him then she would have wanted an audience. Strange.

"I see you cave to Harry's every whim like always." A warm arm around his shoulder had him looking up to a grinning Blaise. "This party is _tame_ compared to what you lot usually throw."

"Mother didn't want him to be too nervous." Draco pulled Blaise into a hug. "It's been too long."

"It's been a few weeks." Blaise returned the hug just as tightly. "How are you two, though? After everything?"

"Much better. Almost as though it didn't happen."

"Good. Now, how are _you two_?" Wasn't- That was the same question?

"We're... better? I just told you, Blaise." This room was warm, when Draco actually thought about it.

"C'mon, Draco, I've known you since we were toddlers. I mean, it's easy to see you both have ridiculously obvious feelings for each other. I'm just wondering when you broke down and started dating."

Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes. " _Dating?_ Blaise, I think you need your eyes checked. We're not dating, and before you say it, we're not courting." How could Blaise even get an idea like that?

"Dray, come on, you know Pansy will just get it out of Harry." Lovely. He forgot how his friends could be idiots.

"Blaise, I told you, we're not, and I don't understand how you could even get that idea. We're just friends."

"There's- Huh." Blaise paused, frowning and crossing his arms. "You're right. Sorry, I guess I must have been seeing things." Blaise grinned, patting at Draco's shoulder. "I'm going to go wish Harry a happy birthday real quick."

"Hmph. You be sure to do that." Dating. Alright, yes, so he had feelings for _Potter_ of the purely aesthetic appreciation kind, but Harry was his friend. _Just_ his friend. Honestly, it was like you couldn't be friends without people thinking you were dating - Blaise and Pansy should know that better than anyone! Though... When Draco thought about it, he supposed dating Harry wouldn't be too bad. Maybe even nice. Late nights studying in the common room, curled up together. Lazy mornings laying together to stay warm. Harry letting Draco spoil him to death because dammit, he _deserved_ it- ...Wait.

"I don't know how you dealt with Pansy and Blaise all those years," Harry was back at his side, nose wrinkling even with a smile fighting on his face. With the way his was caught between annoyance and laughter and how those precious curls of his framed his face he was... He was perfect. "So, I believe you were escorting me to the buffet table?"

...Even if they _were_ like that, it didn't much matter. They were friends. Anything else was just... "Of course. Come on, the elves spent all day on it." The time twister had already given him everything he had asked for, to even try and want more... Draco knew what happened when someone wanted too much. He would appreciate what he had and that was that. It had to be.

"Great. Wanna grab a few things and then maybe escape? Please?"

"That sounds wonderful, Harry." Draco took his hand as the two put together a couple plates before hurrying outside. Harry seemed to relax and open up as soon as they were outside, taking a deep breath of the warm summer air before laughing loudly and freely.

"I just- I still can't believe I'm here, you know? I'm here and _happy_."

Draco waited until the two sat down to pull Harry into his lap. "You're here," he agreed, arms tight around Harry's waist. "And I'm never letting you go."

"I think I'm okay with that." Harry relaxed against him, their plates to the side as they relaxed. "Hey, Dray, you didn't tell me you had a dog."

"A dog? Where?!" Draco immediately scrambled up and back, looking around frantically. Was Fenrir here? Already?! It was far too early, it wasn't time yet for them to be at the manor! They needed to get inside as soon as-

Hands on his cheeks stilled him at once, Draco suddenly only able to see the glimmering green of Harry's eyes, "Dray, Dray, hey, it's okay, it's okay, just me and you here, alright? Look, it's just a dog over there. Probably a stray. It's okay. We'll go inside, okay? It's okay."

Draco took a deep breath. "Sorry. Sorry. Seventh year... A stray? We don't get strays around the house." He gently pulled away, looking around the grounds, and right there, just as Harry said, was a plain looking black dog. Actually, plain was being kind. It looked starved, dirty, and probably sick. It also looked like it would be huge when properly fed.

"Looks like this one didn't know that," Harry hummed, looking down to their plates of food before picking up his and walking towards the stray dog. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Wha- Harry, what are you doing," Draco hissed, staying firmly away from the dog.

"He looks hungry." Yes, okay, great, that didn't explain why Harry was going _near it_. "I can always grab more food from inside."

"Don't go near it! It might have _diseases!_ "

"That's what magic is for!" Harry went right up to the giant _beast_ and eat the plate down, actually _smiling_ at the thing. "Here you go. You're probably hungry, huh? 'S alright, you can eat all you want. Just don't eat too fast, okay?" The mangy thing didn't even seem to wait, eating everything off the plate.

Draco walked over, standing firmly behind Harry. "Go on. Shoo." The dog licked his lips and stared up at them, not moving an inch. "Harry, I don't trust this. What if it's an animagus?" The dog flicked it's ears backed and looked at him steadily and oh, there was definitely something strange about this dog.

"An ani- A what?" Harry gave him an odd look, bending down and sticking his hand out. "He doesn't seem aggressive."

"A witch or wizard that can turn into an animal. Namely, a dog." But then… That didn't make sense. No person would look _that awful,_ human or dog form.

"I dunno, I don't think a wizard would suddenly clean a plate that quickly." The dog didn't move at Harry's hand, only staring at the boy with eyes that seemed crystal clear. "He looks like he's been through a lot." Draco's eyes narrowed at the dog as he wrapped his arms around Harry's waist.

"Like I said. I don't trust it. What if it has mange?"

"You'd know if the dog was sick, Dray, trust me." Harry leaned against Draco's hold, tilting his head as he watched the dog who finally sat down, still staring up at them. "He must have walked a long way if he looks this exhausted." And then, quite suddenly, the dog looked up at Harry and whined, sounding actually rather pathetic, though also sorrowful at the same time. It was a sound that had shivers going down Draco's spine. Harry frowned, tugging himself free of Draco to take a few more steps towards the dog. "It's probably just me imagining things, but he looks… This dog almost looks familiar." Harry held his hand out gently, the dog's whining quieting before Harry gently rested a hand on his head. Draco set a hand on Harry's back, watching them.

"...Maybe your parents had one." There was another soft whine from the dog, Harry gently starting to stroke his fingers through the fur.

"Maybe." The two fell quiet, Harry finally sighing and shaking his head. "Maybe he just reminds me of another dog I've seen. I used to take care of the strays around Privet Drive." Harry huffed out a laugh. "I knew what it was like to be abandoned, I guess."

"I still don't like dogs," Draco huffed. As long as there were no fangs or growling, he supposed it would be okay for now. Merlin, the dog looked absolutely pathetic. Maybe it was a pet left to be abandoned. "...I'm going to go get some more food."

"Alright," Harry grinned, adjusting to sit down on the ground and still rub the top of the dog's head. "Think he ran away from somewhere?"

"Maybe," he hummed quietly. "Don't those sorts of dogs usually have a collar, though?"

"He could have torn it off." Harry grinned at him. "We'll wait here until you get back."

"See to it that you do," Draco huffed, turning and returning to the party.

When Draco got back outside, the dog was laying down beside Harry, and Harry was rubbing the beast's _stomach,_ looking to speak quietly to it. He couldn't tell what was said as Harry stopped talking as soon as Draco got closer, grinning instead as he rubbed at the mangy thing's stomach even more. "I think I made a new friend."

Draco carefully set the plate down, along with a small bowl, casting an _Aguamenti_ at it. "Harry," Draco said softly as he wrapped around the younger. Harry shifted in his hold and looked up at him, tilting his head.

"What's wrong?"

"Will you come back and dance with me?"

The silence felt comfortable - right. There was nothing but the sound of that mangy dog quickly emptying the bowl and plate and the gentle summer breeze blowing across the grounds. If he strained his hearing, he could just barely hear the quiet, muffled sound of cheerful partygoers. "Alright, but... Only if you dance with me out here, first."

"Harry," he chuckled. "We can't even hear the music." And it was true. Everything was muffled from where they were, as though they were secluded in their own world.

"So we'll just pretend there's music," Harry laughed, nudging at Draco until he was in the position to lead. "You're still better at this. Just... Think of it like more practice. We didn't have music then."

Draco finally smiled and nodded. "Alright. And... One two three, one two three, here we go." There was a small stumble before Harry was falling into step with him, grinning and giggling even at the small mistakes they made. "You know, Harry, I've realized something."

"Really?" Harry looked back up at Draco, grin wider. "What's that, Dray?"

"You're taller than me and I hate it." Instead of apologizing like he rightly should have, Harry only laughed and squirmed so he was closer, wrapping his arms around Draco's shoulders.

"Do I always stay taller than you, then?"

Draco _may_ have stood on his toes to look over Harry. "No, you don't."

"Then why are you so worried?" Harry knocked into him and back onto his feet, grinning as they were mere inches apart. "Let me enjoy it while I can, okay?"

"No! I'm older, so I should get to be taller!"

"If we're being technical, here, you're only two months older." Harry paused before suddenly getting _taller_ and that _rat_ \- Draco pushed him away, stomping his foot.

"You're cheating! Stop growing!" The laughter did nothing to quell his rage. Turning to snap at him, Draco was stopped at the sight of Harry laughing. He had seen him laugh plenty of times, but... He never looked this happy- This _right._ "...Come on. You promised we'd go back inside."

"Fine, fine." Harry wrapped his hand around Draco's, pausing at seeing the empty plate and bowl before refilling it with his own water charm. "You can stay out here, okay? I'll bring more food for you tomorrow if you want to stick around." Draco smiled at Harry, holding his hand tightly.

"Your heart is far too big." That had always been true of Harry Potter, though, hadn't it?

"A little, but that's okay. I have you here to make sure it's okay." Harry pulled Draco towards the ballroom, grinning. "Now, c'mon, if I get a ball as a present then I guess I should probably enjoy it as best I can."

"Harry," Draco began with a warm smile. "What makes you think you get just one present?"

"Because... I mean, you guys threw me a _ball_. Why would you waste anything else on me." In the background, Draco heard the stray give another one of those sorrowful whines.

"Because none of it is a waste. Harry, your birthday? That's another year you've survived. I think that deserves celebration." This time Draco really wasn't surprised by the hug he was pulled into. "Come on, let's go eat properly."

::

"You can't possibly have more presents." Harry was stifling a yawn in the wake of the ball, near all the guests gone or on their way out. The younger looked exhausted but pleased. "You all have given me way more than enough."

Narcissa and Lucius looked at each other before the former held out her hand. "Come with us, Harry." There was a moment where Harry paused before carefully taking Narcissa's hand, looking much younger than his age of thirteen. Narcissa only smiled at him as she led him to the sitting room, where Harry's pile of presents was waiting for him.

"That- That's not all for me, is it?" Harry looked ready to almost cry, looking between them all. "I mean, it's more than enough that you let me stay with you."

"Harry, dear, of course it's for you. It's your birthday. Though, you should know it's not _all_ from us. Of course some of it is from Draco, or from your friends, or-" Narcissa didn't even get to finish before Harry was tightly wrapped around her in a hug. A second passed before he was quickly letting go and taking a step back.

"Ah, sorry." A second didn't even pass before Narcissa was pulling him back into a hug. Harry looked startled before he was burrowing back against her, smile wide enough to split his face. "Thank you. For everything."

"Of course, Harry, of course. Well? Go on. Open your presents." Taking a seat on the couch, Draco watched as Harry began opening his presents, overly careful about tearing the wrapping paper too much. He seemed delighted with each and every present - even Sev's who had given him the textbook they would need for the next year. And then -

"Oh! That one's from me!" He had a feeling Harry was going to like this one. After seeing all those books in the library after Dumbledore's letter, it wasn't hard to piece together that he wanted to find out more about his family. While Draco couldn't do much about the Evans, the Potters had left quite a few pictures and Daily Prophet articles behind. It wasn't too hard to bind them all up into a nice little book. As well as what information on 'the Marauders' there was that wasn't slanderous. If they were such a big part of his father's life, he deserved to know as much about them as possible He'd gotten plenty of help from his parents, and Sev and Hagrid, of course.

It was cute watching Harry's expression turn from confused to utterly _awed_. Although Draco wasn't quite expecting to be almost knocked off the couch with how much force Harry had put into that running hug. Draco laughed, hugging him back just as hard. "I take it you like your present, then?"

"If you're trying to make me love you even more then it's working."

"Oh, well, so long as it's working."

"You actually have one more present from us, Harry." And oh, if Harry thought Draco's present was great then this was nothing compared to what was about to happen. "We've- Well, we've noticed that you enjoy staying here, and..." Too excited to contain himself, Draco began to laugh, holding Harry closer. "We wanted to know if you would want to become a part of our family and let us be your guardians."

Harry didn't say anything beyond a strangled squeak, tears welling up in his eyes - Draco knew enough about him at this point to know they weren't out of sorrow, either. "You don't ever have to go back to that horrible family," Draco said softly. "You'll always have a home to come back to, and a real family, and -"

"I'm trying _not_ to cry, Dray!" Harry was covering his mouth, tears already slipping past. "Yes- _Yes_. Yes, yes, yes, _please_."

Narcissa held out a piece of parchment. "You need only to sign it." As much as Harry was coiled up and near bursting with energy, he was very careful in taking the parchment and quill and signing his name so _carefully_ right where Narcissa told him to. The moment he signed the last 'r,' Narcissa rolled up the parchment with a smile. "There. You're part of the family."

"Does- Um, does this mean my last name is Malfoy now?" Harry was still half-sitting in Draco's lap and looking utterly starstruck. Draco laughed slightly, shaking his head.

"No. It means that my mother and father are your legal guardians. Oh! Speaking of!" Draco dug around in his pocket before handing over two paper slips.

"I was wondering when you got these." Narcissa smiled before taking the permissions slips to Hogsmeade and signing them, Harry watching with confusion before he was nudging at Draco.

"Permission slips for Hogsmeade. The town next to Hogwarts? Only a legal guardian can sign it for you."

"Oh." Harry settled back in Draco's lap, silent for a long moment before he spoke. "I was just adopted." Draco's arms were still wrapped around Harry's waist as he nodded.

"Yes. And you never have to see them again." It was nice to see Harry finally _realize_ that, too. There was no need to go back to that place and Harry would never have to see the Dursleys again. He supposed that was why he started tearing up again. Draco lowered his voice as he ran a hand through Harry's hair. "No more of your aunt's shrill voice. No more of your uncle turning purple when he's upset. No more Harry Hunting. You'll stay here with us and you'll always be able to do magic, and ask questions. You're going to be a prince."

"I thought I told you I was trying to _not_ cry," Harry grumbled, shifting and turning to hide against Draco's chest. "Stop making me cry."

"I told you I wouldn't ever let you go back. And I always keep my promises."

" _Dray_." Draco only smiled, continuing to hold Harry close. It was nice to know for sure, now, that Harry would at least be safe up until _he_ came back. For now, though, the Manor was his home and everything was going to be okay. This year was the year where it was normal. It was going to be _fine_.


	4. Shopping and Snooping

**A/N: Apologies for the late-running chapter, we're both growing ever more busy with work as well as school, and we're trying to work out - pause for dramatic effect - an uploading schedule. It's still in the works, right now, but it is in progress. ~Kas**

 **I love Sirius in this. Sorry that we're very bad at time. -Kit**

* * *

"You're getting to be too big for your clothes." Pausing from where he was putting his clothes on, Harry looked down at himself before finally just giving a shrug.

"By an inch or two, maybe."

Draco began to grin as he took Harry's hands into his own. "Do you know what this means?"

"That you're going to make me go shopping with you today?" Harry was trying not to grin, twining his hands with Draco's own.

"It means we get to go shopping!" He laughed, pulling Harry towards the door. "Come on, we have to go right away!"

"Wha- Dray, hold on, the stores aren't suddenly going to disappear-" Harry paused, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Draco. "Are they?"

"Well, no," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "But it's summer, so we want to get to the shops before the big Hogwarts rush."

"I suppose you do have a point- Oh! Let me go check on Snuffles real quick, though, okay?"

" _Snuffles?_ "

"Yeah, our new pet dog? He's probably hungry- I mean, obviously he's hungry. C'mon, we can stop by the kitchens and then let your mom know we're going to Diagon Alley."

"First off, we do _not_ have a pet dog. Secondly, if we did, we would _not_ name him 'Snuffles.'"

"Snuffles is a great name for a dog." Harry pulled him along to the kitchens, ducking and weaving between house elves as he grabbed a few things on a plate, throwing out pleasantries to each elf who asked if he needed anything. "And he's definitely a pet. I've always wanted a pet dog, you know."

"Snuffles is a horrible name. He should have something dignified, if we're naming him. _Which we're not._ " Naming a dog meant keeping them, and there was no way that they were keeping a _dog_.

"What would you name him, then?" Plate piled high with food, Harry balanced a bowl in his other arm as he headed towards the courtyard.

Draco paused and thought it over before nodding. "Hyperion. Not that we're naming him. Because that means we're keeping him."

"Oh, so you'd give him a name as pretentious as the rest of you all are." Wha- Rude! "Snuffles is a great name, you know. I bet Snuffles is waiting right at the edge of the grounds for us."

"Harry, don't give it a name." Draco couldn't help but to roll his eyes. Honestly.

"He's a he, Dray, and his name is Snuffles."

"His name is _not_ Snuffles!"

"Well it's definitely not 'Hyperion'."

"Hyperion is a much better name than Snuffles!" Draco paused as he held his hands out. "Here, let me hold them for a moment."

"Here, just hold the bowl and that'll help." Harry shifted things around until Draco was holding the empty bowl, Harry giving a nod. "And Snuffles is the perfect name."

"Damn. I was going to shove you down the hill."

"I know." Harry smirked, quickly getting out of range of him or any kicking. "C'mon, let's go." Draco rolled his eyes and followed him down the hill. Just like Harry had said, the dog was waiting for them at the bottom. "Hey there, Snuffles!" There was a little yip from the dog, Harry beaming as he set the plate of food down in front of him. "We brought you more food."

"I told you, his name is not Snuffles. It's Hyperion." Draco paused. "Not that we're naming it!" The dog looked between them before bending down and eating the food off the plate. It was a lot less frantic than last night, that was for sure.

"Snuffles, you can stay here as long as you want, okay?" Harry took the bowl back and filled it with water, patting at _not Snuffles'_ head.

"Harry! Perhaps in the dark it may have been different, but what happens when mother and father look out their window and-"

"Well, we're technically on the edges of the grounds, right?" Harry shifted to sit down, watching the mangy thing with fascination and delight. "So he's okay, right? He's not technically trespassing or anything."

"No, but mother and father will see us out cavorting with a dirty, mangy, sickly..." Draco trailed off as he watched the beast look up at him with incredibly sad eyes.

"You hurt his feelings," Harry said, holding his hand out and letting the animal rest his chin on it. "Aw. He's absolutely _perfect_ , Dray."

"He's an absolute _beast._ "

"You really don't like dogs, do you?"

"No, I don't, and for good reason. They're _terrifying!_ "

"No they're not." Harry grinned, sitting up on his knees and _hugging the monster_. "They're called man's best friend for a reason, after all, you know. Besides, I've always been a good judge of character with people. We can trust him."

"In case you haven't realized, that is not a person." Instead of snapping and turning on them, the dog only went still in Harry's grip, eyes wide and tail utterly still behind him. "Ha- Harry, you might want to-" All at once, the dog slumped against Harry, the boy laughing and scratching at the dog's head as he grinned at Draco. Draco shook his head, crossing his arms. "You are an entirely different species, Harry Potter."

"Maybe." They were going to end up keeping the mangy thing, weren't they? "I like dogs. I told you I wandered around the neighborhood, right? I'd take care of strays and sometimes they'd growl at Dudley when he came around."

Draco sighed. "I hate you." Grin growing, Harry patted the ground beside him. It was also the spot away from the dog. With another heavy sigh, Draco sat down on the ground beside Harry, leaning away from the dog.

"Now was that so hard?" Harry leaned against Draco's side, still patting the dog that looked more like a _Grim_. "So what kind of year is this going to be, then?"

"A wonderfully normal one." Alright, he couldn't completely blame Harry for the doubting look. "I mean it. Alright - A man alleged to have helped kill your parents broke out of Azkaban earlier this summer and people think he's coming to kill you, but no near death experiences this year!"

"Oh, well as long as there are none of those." A bark from the monster had Draco scrambling back a little bit and oh, dear, that was a very loud bark. "Oh, hush. We didn't even die. We just… came a little close."

"Three times, for your part. I've lost track." Draco slowly settled, keeping a wary eye on the beast. Didn't trust it as far as he could throw it. The creature was already making little noises and pawing at Harry- _Merlin_ that was a huge paw.

"That's probably not a good thing, Dray." Harry only caught the paw and held it, inspecting it. "Huh, he's already fully grown. 'S weird, you usually see only young ones as strays."

"As you said, it's possible he escaped from somewhere." Draco examined the dog from a distance, eyes narrowed.

"I dunno, though. If he had a family he'd be a lot better taken care of. He looks like he's been starved for _years_." Harry was too sympathetic for his own good. "If he grew up on the streets or in the woods, though, he'd be a lot more feral and would have bitten me by now."

"I don't know, Harry. I don't understand dogs." Draco watched them before laying back on the grass. "It's a nice day out."

"It's a good thing we're going shopping today, then." A long moment passed before Draco felt fingers carding through his hair. "Should we invite Blaise and Pansy, do you think?"

"Mm. If you'd like. I think it'd be fun, but we don't have to."

"How about we shop just me and you, we get lunch with them, and then we can shop for a while the four of us before dinner. Maybe we can meet up with your other friends? Um, Crabbe, Goyle, and... Theo, right?"

"Right. That..." Draco laughed softly as he leaned into Harry's touch. "That sounds wonderful." And days like these were just _perfect_. The weather was gorgeous, Harry was safe, and he was going to see his friends again.

"We can spend a little bit more time out here, though, I think. It really is a nice day after all."

"It is, isn't it? Hey, Harry..."

"Yeah, Dray?"

"...Nevermind."

This didn't feel like the day for change.

::

"If you don't hurry then we're going to be late meeting up with everyone. See, this is why you shouldn't have signed up for all those extra classes. All those textbooks are going to kill you, Dray."

Draco waved him off. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll catch up." Harry looked between him and the way they were going, huffing a laugh as he looked back to Draco.

"Fine, I'll go ahead and let them know why you're so horribly slow. Wouldn't want them to abandon us, now would we?" Throwing a wink, Harry grinned before he was rushing through the crowds and up ahead to the Leaky Cauldron. It was easy to tell how distracted he was at all the magic he was seeing. Draco couldn't help the smile that escaped as he watched Harry from a distance. The younger really didn't know how enchanting he was, did he? Draco was going to have to fix that. Harry needed to realise just how amazing every aspect of himself was. Not just the Voldemort-killing part. Perhaps he could get some ideas and help from their friends, because, _really_. Draco couldn't have been the only one to notice how quick Harry was when it came to discrediting himself.

Just as he reached the Leaky Cauldron, he felt his load get lighter and turned to snap at whoever had taken something from him. He was instead met with a very amused looking Blaise. "Harry seemed pretty concerned about you dying on the side of the road with your books. How many did you _get_?"

"Oh, you know. Just twelve," Draco answered easily, following the sound of Pansy's laughter. At least his friends were easy to track down when he needed to find them.

"Not even I'm taking this many classes," Blaise sighed, looking through the bag he was holding. "This is ridiculous. Are you planning on having time to sleep and eat this year?"

"Semantics," Draco waved off. "Harry dear, can you help me a bit?" Almost in a second Harry was at his side and holding the bag for him, grinning widely.

"See, this is why I sent Blaise back."

"All he really did was tease me," the blond huffed as he sat down and smiled around him. "Well, this is a right reunion, isn't it?"

"We were starting to think those lions finally ate you," Greg snorted, standing next Vince and throwing Draco a smirk. "Nice to see you're still alive."

"Just barely." Draco sighed dramatically. "I did _not_ think that a requirement of being associates with Harry Potter was daily death-defying stunts."

"'Associates,'" Theo raised an eyebrow. "Sure, if that's what you wanna go with. And you don't- Well, no, there was that thing with Quirrell. And then the whole Chamber of Secrets- How _are_ you alive?"

"A thing I wonder each day, Theo," Draco nodded, scooting over to make room for Harry. "What do you want?"

"Oh, uh." Harry blinked before just shrugging. "Order for me?"

"If I must."

"Thanks, Dray." Harry sat down next to him, careful with setting their bags down before starting to dig through for one of their books. Draco couldn't much blame him, since he didn't interact much with Theo, Vince, or Greg. Draco only smiled.

"How's your brother, Theo? He's going to be a first year, this year, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's excited as can be," Theo laughed. "He's worried about what house he gets, but I told him if he gets Gryffindor then he'll have a pair of Slytherins to help him out."

"And you, Greg? How's your mother," Draco asked.

"She's doing fine," Greg rolled his eyes. "No wonder you always ask after her considering how much you act like her."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" With a huff, Draco looked over the menu.

"It means you're as dramatic as any of our mothers," Pansy said, leaning over to tap at something on the menu. "Get him that, he'll like it."

Draco shook his head. "I was thinking something more like..." He pointed to the one a few items down, Pansy tsking and shaking her head as she took her own seat again.

"You _spoil_ him."

"A bit, yes."

"What," Harry asked suddenly, leaning over to peek over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Draco pouted at him, leaning away. "It's a surprise."

"You don't need to make a surprise out of everything, you know," Harry pouted, trying to look at the menu again.

"Sure I do. How else are we going to make it any fun?" Draco easily kept the menu out of reach, trying not to laugh when Harry huffed and slumped against him. Draco _did_ laugh, as well as the others with them as they began to order their food.

It wasn't until after lunch that Blaise was taking Draco aside, grinning in a way that meant trouble, "I take it you two finally talked things out on his birthday, then?"

Draco rose an eyebrow at that. "Talked _what_ out?"

"Your feelings, of course." Oh, not this again. "About time, too. I was starting to worry you two would never get your act together."

"I don't know _what_ you're talking about," Draco huffed, crossing his arms.

"You called him 'dear'. At that point all subtly is out the window." Blaise patted at Draco's back and _goodness_. He was quite mistaken. "I'm happy for you two."

"No- No, Blaise, you really don't know what you're talking about-"

"No, no, it's okay, I won't tell anyone if you two want to keep it quiet for a while. It's fine. I just wanted to say that I'm happy you two have each other. You're always so down when he's not around."

"Harry and I are _not_ together!" Draco finally screeched.

"Are you and Pansy still on about that." See! Even Harry knew it was ridiculous! "I explained everything to you guys last night at the ball. Can't you just drop it."

"There, you see," Draco huffed. He walked ahead of Blaise to instead stroll alongside Harry, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Honestly. They _must_ be seeing things."

"I'm sure, Dray." Oh, well glad Harry found this all amusing. "C'mon, we should take all our stuff home and then... Huh." Harry paused, looking down at the ground. "Home." Draco smiled, pulling Harry closer.

"I told you you wouldn't have to go back." Laughing, Harry wrapped him up in a hug before nodding.

"Yeah- Yeah, you did. Well? C'mon, then, we need to check on Snuffles."

"Hyperion." Draco nudged him along. "Come on, you need to be fitted for a new wardrobe."

"My clothes are small by _one_ inch," Harry whined, not fighting against the nudging. "And his name is Snuffles."

"Draco!" Pansy seemed to materialize at their sides. "You let his clothes get that small?!"

"I didn't know," Draco quickly defended.

"You Slytherins are all insane," Harry sighed, turning around and heading towards the direction of Madame Malkin's. "I get to pick the clothes this time!"

"Fine," Draco and Pansy harrumphed at the same time. Harry rolled his eyes, trying to hide a smile as he held his hand out towards Draco. Draco finally smiled at him, taking his hand again.

"Unbelievable." Blaise muttered, trailing behind them. "I'm going, too, then. Might as well as show you all what good clothes should look like."

::

"A lot of people had it out for Sirius Black, huh?" Harry was propped up against the still mangy Hyperion and reading a copy if the Daily Prophet.

"People think of a real Slytherin, they think of that story. Betraying all of his best friends and killing most of them off to please the Dark Lord. In case you never noticed, people don't like Slytherin."

"Yeah, well, people are stupid," Harry huffed, slumping down against Hyperion, the dog grumbling and whining. "I think being a Slytherin would have been great."

"Honestly? I think a Slytherin Harry Potter is a bit terrifying. Look at how much trouble you already get into." Draco ran a hand through Harry's hair from where he lay a foot away on the grass.

"Hey, trouble finds me." Harry tilted his head into the touch, flipping through the paper again. "Oh, hey, your parents adopting me made the news."

"Did it?" Draco beamed and sat up, immediately snatching the paper from Harry's hands to read it himself. There were noises of complaint from what sounded like both Harry _and_ the mutt, Draco paying it not mind and wow, there really was an article- Ugh, by Rita Skeeter. Already she was spinning the story in her own twisted way. It seemed the Malfoys were 'corrupting the noble Harry Potter' into becoming 'the next Dark Wizard'. What utter rot. "Hang on. How did they know about that? We did all the legal bits in private," Draco huffed, eyebrows furrowing.

"Maybe the writer of it was at the ball you guys threw and overheard you talking about it?" Harry suggested, patting at a grumbling Hyperion's head. "It's okay, boy, I'm starting to get used to being 'Harry Potter'."

"Harry, he's a dog, he doesn't understand what we're talking about, let alone who you are," Draco scoffed, shaking his head as he read over the paper. ' _Interestingly, the Malfoys have a very close tie to one Sirius Black, known to have escaped from Azkaban and is currently hunting the Boy Who Lived. Is it possible Narcissa Malfoy neé Black is saving him for her very close cousin-_ ' "How dare they!"

"What'd they say?" Harry didn't bother trying to read the paper, only fawning over his mutt some more. "It can't be anything too bad, right?"

"They're going after my mother, saying that she's just saving you for Cousin Sirius!"

"Seriously?" That had Harry moving to read the paper over his shoulder, scoffing. "Who _is_ this person? This is so wrong!"

"Rita Skeeter. Slander is her specialty." Draco laid back down on the grass, handing the paper back over to Harry.

"Stirring up trouble sounds like it's her speciality, too," Harry huffed, taking the paper and flipping through it. "Why would anyone ever say things like that? You all _saved_ me."

"Because they think they know us, but they don't," Draco said softly, reaching over to hold Harry's hand. Harry twined their fingers together at once, huffing as he shifted so he was between Draco and Hyperion.

"It's still- Is your Mom showing the _Minister_ around the gardens?"

Draco sat up again with a frown. "The Minister? What's he doing here?"

Following Harry's gaze, Draco saw that Fudge was walking at Narcissa's side, the two talking quietly as they walked through the gardens. Draco might have passed it off if it wasn't for the grim looks that both of them were wearing. Beside him, Harry gave a quiet hum. "Think we should go find out what they're talking about?"

"You read my mind. Do you have your cloak?" Nodding, Harry stood up and brushed himself off.

"It's in my trunk. I'll run and grab it and then we can head over and see what they look so worried about."

Draco nodded. "I'll wait for you." Harry was away in a flash… Leaving Draco with the mutt. With a pause, the blond narrowed his eyes. "Don't you dare set a paw a single millimeter forward, you mutt."

The beast stared at him for a long moment before shifting so his right paw was even closer to Draco. Beyond that, there wasn't a single other move made. Draco still scrambled to put another foot between it and himself.

He didn't relax until he heard Harry's voice, the teen appearing a second later before throwing the cloak over the both of them, wild grin only a hair's breadth away, "Come here often?" Draco rolled his eyes, pushing at Harry's shoulder gently.

"Shut up and let's go." Laughing, Harry twined their fingers together before pulling them over towards the garden where Narcissa and Fudge were walking, quieting down and falling as silent as Draco.

"-just not safe," Fudge was saying, shaking his head. "Perhaps Dumbledore is right in saying we should send the boy back to live with his family. He'd be safer in that world."

"I can guarantee you," Narcissa said sharply. "That is the furthest thing from the truth." Draco held Harry's hand tightly, glancing at him. The teen was looking more calculating than scared, tilting his head as they followed along from a distance.

"With how word has gotten out and your relation don't you think Sirius Black might check here for the boy first? There's still a few weeks until school begins again."

"And we have the wards tightly guarded against any who mean harm to those who live here. If Sirius Black comes within a kilometer, we will be the first to know," the woman reassured. "We, however, will _not_ be sending him back to those that the Ministry calls his family." Narcissa glanced back to the entrance of the garden before speaking softer. "Did you hear what he told Severus?"

"I'm afraid I haven't." Fudge raised a curious eyebrow, Harry tugging on Draco's hand to get them to speed their pace up. "Why? What was said?"

"Cornelius... They starved him and locked him in what he called a 'cupboard.' He says that they _beat_ him." Suppressing a wince as the hand around his tightened to be almost painful, Draco watched as Fudge's face drained of all color.

"Impossible. We were always assured that he was well cared for and looked after- Are you sure he wasn't just blowing things out of proportion?"

"You haven't seen him. The first summer he stayed with us, he looked malnourished. We had to go _rescue_ him from his home. His letters weren't getting through, for a reason that is still a mystery to me, and Draco was worried over him, so the two of us went to his home. They had locks on his door, and a cat flap on the door. When I managed a good proper look, there were bars on his windows. All his books, his robes, and even his wand was locked in a cupboard under the stairs." Draco... Draco had nearly forgotten all about that.

That had only been last summer, too. How had he almost forgotten? The way Narcissa said it so matter-of-factly made it sound so much worse than what it had first looked like, too. "Dear Merlin... There's no possible way Dumbledore could have known about all of this."

"But he must. He sent Harry a letter requesting he return there for the remainder of the summer. That was enough to have the boys running to Severus."

"Perhaps Severus merely hasn't told him of what he's heard. I'll be sure to speak with him and get this all fixed. The wards are secure, however?"

"Absolutely. They're tied to our own magical energies." Narissa glanced back behind them again and turned back to Fudge. "Please, excuse me, Cornelius." Uh oh.

"Oh, of course. I'll go wait in the front hall." As Fudge started walking away, Harry was tugging him back and trying to be as quiet as possible to escape. Shame it wouldn't work.

"Now, Harry, you're excused. However. You, Draco, know better than to eavesdrop."

"Wha- Why is _he_ excused?!" Draco pulled the cloak off to frown up at his mother.

"Because _you_ I've taught to not eavesdrop and that if you must then to not be _noticed_." Narcissa raised an eyebrow, Draco ready to argue back before Harry stepped in front of him.

"Um, Mrs. Malfoy ma'am? It was my idea to follow you two to see what you were talking about."

"Oh, well that doesn't much matter, Harry. _Draco_ knows better." Narcissa looked them over, tilting her head before finally a soft look crossed her face. "Do you want me to treat you like normal, then?" Oh no.

"I- Um-" Harry looked almost panicked, glancing between Draco and Narcissa before giving a scared little nod. "I guess."

"Alright, then. The both of you, no broom flying for the next week." And with that, she turned and walked off to catch up with Fudge.

Draco sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly, it's probably for the best you agreed. If you'd said no, she probably would have given you two weeks to 'keep you humble' or some rot."

"I... Right." Harry stared after Narcissa, finally looking to Draco. "Is that a normal kind of punishment? No broom flying? I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to ban us from dinner for a few nights?"

"Wha- Harry, no. Believe it or not, most parents _don't_ starve their children as punishment."

"Right. Right." Harry nodded, taking the cloak and folding it up. "I think I'll be okay with not going on my broom for a week, especially since we learned that Dumbledore is even trying to get the Minister to make me go back."

"That's what makes me most upset." Draco crossed his arms before finally sighing and taking Harry's hand. "Come on, we may as well go back inside, if we can't fly."

"Alright." Harry took his hand, pausing long enough to raise his voice towards Hyperion. "We'll be back later, Snuffles! Try not to be seen,okay!"

" _Hyperion!_ "


	5. Timely Encounters

**A/N: It's cute, how those of you reading The Second Meeting think that these two stories are the same. ~Kas**

 **Had fun with the dementors, gonna have even more fun with 'Hyperion.' - Kit**

* * *

When Draco checked on Harry and his packing, he was slightly startled to see the other sitting on top of his trunk and very seriously looking at piles of items that were laid out in a circle around him. The fierce concentration on his face only concerned Draco even more. "Um... Harry?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

"Not everything will fit in my trunk anymore." And this was a problem how? "I'm trying to decide what I can take to Hogwarts and what can be left behind."

"Oh, don't worry about that, the extension charms can be tested out, now."

"What do you mean it can be tested out?"

"Oh, all the trunks come standard with extension charms."

"Wha- They do? I thought you only cast that on my trunk last year?" No? About to say as much, Harry suddenly waved it off. "Wait, no, that was a shrinking charm I think. Okay, but that still doesn't mean it's big enough to hold _all_ my stuff."

"Then you leave the books you don't need, and most of your casual clothes. You only need them for weekends." There was a moment where Harry looked ready to argue before he _smiled_.

"Right- Right. Because it'll still be here when I come back." Draco smiled and cupped his cheek.

"You can leave them here. At home." It was nice to see the words finally, _finally_ sink in, Harry's eyes wide for a moment before he grinned and pressed into the hand against his cheek.

"Yeah, I can. That still doesn't help when it comes to fitting in my sketchbooks, though."

"I can help well enough with that." Draco hummed as he folded Harry's clothes neatly. "You can't just throw everything in, you know. There needs to be order."

"I mean, there's a little bit of order," Harry huffed, moving off the trunk and opening it to show a mess of books and school supplies. "Sort of, at least." Draco sighed.

"I'll take care of it." A pouting look was shot at him before Harry gathered a few pencils and a sketchbook and relocated to his bed. Draco didn't pay it much mind and instead heaved a sigh at the mess he was left with. Really, it was a little ridiculous the lengths he would go to for the Boy Who Lived to Make His Life Harder.

Getting to work, he made sure to not let himself get distracted until he at least had all the clothes folded and the books stacked _neatly_ within the confines of the trunk. When he did get distracted, he took solace in the fact that it was at least by Harry's stubborn and determined look aimed solely at the sketch he was working on. Draco couldn't help the amused and fond smile that remained, even when Harry looked up at him. "Thought you were 'taking care of it'?"

"Hm? Mhm. Right." Giving a quiet laugh, Harry shifted over on the bed and patted the space next to him, smile growing a little bit wider.

"You can come see what I've been working on if you want." Draco beamed at this, immediately dropping whatever it was he'd been holding and sitting beside Harry. The younger laughed and leaned up against him, tilting his sketchbook so Draco could see that he had been drawing… Him. There were dozens of sketches across the page of Draco in the middle of just cleaning the room, but the care put into them was breathtaking.

"Harry..." Draco didn't even know what he could say, what he should say. "I..." Oh.

"You've been doing that trailing off thing a lot." Harry shifted so he was better facing Draco, flipping to a new page and poking his tongue out as he very quickly sketched over the page. "Is this the part where you say 'it's nothing' or 'nevermind' again?"

Draco watched him for a moment before shifting to lean against his shoulder, a bit of a silly grin on his face. "It can wait."

"Yeah- Yeah, I think it can." Harry ruffled his hair, shifting so Draco could watch as Harry continued his sketch. Cautiously, Draco reached over and wrapped his hand around Harry's free hand. Shifting so his sketchbook was braced against his knees, Harry twined their fingers together as he kept drawing. And they were perfect, just as they were.

::

"Okay, so Dobby is going to keep feeding you while we're gone and we'll be back for the Christmas Hols, okay?" Harry was kneeling down in front of the mutt he was so fond of and holding the beast's cheeks like he _wouldn't_ bite both hands off in a snap. "You're going to be fine." The thing _whined,_ high and soft as his head seemed to droop in Harry's hold. Draco sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Harry, you really mustn't worry over it so much. It'll be fine."

" _He_." Harry gave him a hard stare, huffing. "And yes, _he_ probably will be fine, but I can still worry."

Draco nudged Harry with his foot. "Come on. Let's get going."

"Alright, alright." Standing up, Harry gave a last pat to the beast's head. "Be good, okay, Snuffles?"

"Harry, he'll be _fine._ We have a train to catch, if you'll recall."

"That's what magic is for," Harry winked. "Okay, okay, let's go before we're late, I guess. Although knowing you lot we'll probably be there half an hour early no matter what." Draco watched Harry walk away a few feet before he leaned down and gave the mutt's head a single pat.

"Behave." Hyperion gave a very serious looking nod, tail giving a single wag before the dog was standing up and walking back towards the forest of trees that bordered the Manor. What a strange dog. Draco turned to follow after Harry, acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

They near got all the way to the front gates before Harry smirked, "I saw that."

"What? Saw what? I don't know what you mean," Draco huffed, crossing his arms.

"I'm sure." Harry bumped up against him before leaning into his side and giving a pleased little hum. "Ready for another hopefully normal year at Hogwarts, then?"

"Definitely more normal than the last two years, that's for sure." Draco tugged on Harry's arm a bit until the two were arm in arm. Smiling at Harry, he leaned further against him.

"That sounds perfect." Harry gave him a bright smile, completely relaxed against him. "Are we coming home for Christmas hols, then?" Home. Draco liked that.

"Most likely. Mother would be quite upset if we didn't. She likes to make sure we're still alive, you know."

"I mean, I can kind of see where she's coming from, all things considered. Besides, spending Christmas here sounds nice."

"It does, doesn't it? A nice _normal_ Christmas." The two found Narcissa just outside the wards with their trunks beside her. "Are we side-alonging this time, mother?"

"That seems to be the best way to travel," Narcissa smiled at the two, nudging them towards their trunks. "Come along, now, we don't want to be late. Grab your trunks- Harry, you have Hedwig, dear? Good, good, now each of you grab on tight." Draco only smiled, holding his trunk and holding onto his mother's arm. He did so love apparition. Harry looked a little more wary, holding onto Narcissa's arm tightly with a reluctant look on his face. Draco couldn't help a laugh as the familiar pull seemed to tug at him, and a moment later, they were no longer outside of Malfoy Manor.

The swirl of magic settled down around them and Draco beamed as he saw the familiar scarlet engine that was waiting to take them to a new year of Hogwarts. Children were laughing and running around, pets were scattered every which way, adults were worrying or watching with fond amusement, and- And Harry looked slightly sick. Draco laughed, setting a hand on Harry's back. "It's alright, you get used to it."

"You've said that before," Harry groaned, getting his wits back before turning to Draco and curling up against him, the younger's arms thrown over his shoulders. "Make everything stop moving."

"Come on, let's get you sat down on the train." Draco wrapped an arm around Harry's waist tightly, helping Harry walk towards the train. Narcissa was levitating their trunks after them, mumbling under her breath and making sure they had everything and even releasing Merlin and Hedwig from their cages to stretch their wings.

"'M fine, just a bit dizzy." Harry leaned up against Draco anyways, looking a little better the more they walked.

"Says the one that was just whining," Draco huffed. He led Harry onto the train and back to their usual car, running a hand through his hair with a smile. Harry had leaned into the touch at once.

"It wasn't whining. I like to think it was more talking in a higher pitched tone." The blond laughed as they reached their usual car.

"Hello, who is... Oh." There in front of them was Remus Lupin. He- He looked utterly _exhausted_. Lupin was slumped against the wall and window and breathing softly and just a touch raggedly, fingers twitching in his sleep and an occasional expression of pain flitting across his face.

"I didn't know adults rode the train," Harry frowned, slipping over to sit across from the man, watching him with a frown.

"Sometimes. He's our new Defense teacher." Draco sat beside Harry, leaning against him as his eyelids started to droop. "We woke up far too early."

"It wasn't that early." Harry shifted against him, sniffing at the air and wrinkling his nose. "I feel like I've met him before."

"It's possible," Draco answered vaguely. It wasn't like he could just say yes without spending hours trying to explain everything. Still, it was strange. Harry couldn't possibly remember Lupin… Could he?

"You know," Harry began with a bit of a smirk. "Your mom told me a few interesting things."

"Did she?" Draco raised an eyebrow, smile twitching at his lips. "What did she tell you, then?"

"She told me about my parents' friends. What was it she called them? The Ma..."

"The Marauders," Draco finished, watching as Lupin twitched in his sleep again. How on- Ah, right werewolf hearing.

"Right. Them." Harry looked up to Lupin's suitcase- Oh. Well, that took care of that then, didn't it? "Guess that might be why he seems familiar to me, huh?"

"I suppose so," Draco said with a smile. "It's alright. They're good." Harry nodded, staring at Lupin and studying him intently. Draco didn't blame him. Lupin would be able to answer all of Harry's questions about his parents and more. The compartment door opened, and Draco would admit he was a bit startled when Ron and Hermione came on in.

"Here you two are." The two looked to have already put their trunks with storage, probably not wanting to carry them. "We've been looking all over for you! Pansy and Blaise were, too, last I saw."

"Honestly, we just got here mere moments ago. Besides, we always sit back here. You should have known to look back here." Draco adjusted, holding Harry's hand as he leaned against the younger further. Harry gave a quiet hum, relaxing against him.

"Oh- Oh, well it's about time." About time for what? "Is this our new professor for Defense, then? Strange that he's riding on the train." Hermione sat down beside Draco, a bundle of energy and words as per usual.

"Yes, yes- Oh, are you going to come to the Manor for Christmas, then?"

"I might just for the ball. I still want to spend most of my time home with my parents." Across from them, Ron was shaking his head and finally taking a cautious seat next to Lupin.

Draco rose an eyebrow before shrugging. "Alright. That's your choice, then."

"Don't worry, I'll be making very effective use of your library."

"Hmph. You still cheated, you harpy."

"Excuse you, I did not _cheat_. I'm simply better than you, is all." Draco scoffed.

" _Please!_ There is no possible way you could have beaten me, let alone by one point!"

Harry snickered beside him, "I still can't believe she beat you by a single point."

"Nor can I! Hence the cheating. And don't you laugh about this, you barely scraped by with an E, I know for a fact, in a few classes."

"Hey, I'm not the one who's crazy about passing all my classes. Honestly, I'm fine as long as I get an A in everything."

"Honestly, Harry," Hermione sighed. "You won't get anywhere with that sort of mentality." In response, Harry merely gave a shrug, looking very uncaring of the subject, which, no. They would be working on that this year. Draco tightened his hand around Harry's for a moment.

"Do you wanna get a sketchbook out?" Thinking about it, Harry gave a slow nod.

"Do we have time to get one out before the train leaves?"

"We can do it even after the train pulls out," Draco said with a smile. "Come on, storage is the last car." Helping Harry up, Draco looked to the other two. "We'll be right back."

"Oh, it's better, but it's so much worse," Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "Yes, yes, we'll be waiting."

Draco held Harry's hand as he led him to the storage car. "We just need to find your trunk."

"Okay." Harry held his hand tightly, walking as close to him as possible considering the cramped space. "Hey, Dray?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I…" Harry trailed off, finally giving a laugh and shaking his head. "It's nothing right now. I'll tell you later."

"And you tease _me_ about trailing off," Draco chuckled, tightening his hold on Harry's hand and pulling him into the car. "Alright, let's find your trunk." Since it was still in the middle of being packed, it didn't take too long to dig out his sketchbook and a few pencils and erasers, struggling to not drop anything. "Here, here-" Draco took a few things from him, helping him open the door as well.

Harry beamed, /kissing his cheek/ before heading back to their car with a happy little smile. Draco felt his face warm up before he smiled as well, entering the car after him. Not even Hermione and Ron's expressions of distaste could get him down, Draco only curling up to Harry as they sat down and making sure to leave him enough room to move and draw. Draco hummed softly, giving a quiet giggle. "Am I allowed to watch?"

"It's so much worse." Ignoring Hermione, Draco instead focused on Harry as the teen flipped to a blank page, humming in 'serious' thought.

"I don't know... That seems pretty personal, watching someone while they're drawing. It might require compensation."

Now, Draco _knew_ his face was red. "What do you suggest?"

"Midnight Seeker's games," Harry grinned, smile wide and bright.

"I think I'll be able to manage that."

Draco watched Harry draw for what must have been hours, finally entering a light doze as his head rested on Harry's shoulder. It was peaceful and utterly wonderful. Then the train stopped. Draco jerked forward, frowning. "That's strange. We're not there yet, are we?" As he asked, the lights flickered before turning off altogether.

"We can't be." Hermione was standing up and looking out the window, Harry yelping. "Oh, sorry, Harry- Oh, dear, I can't see anything out there. Why on earth would they turn the lights off!"

"Is it just me, or is it… Getting colder," Draco whispered, holding Harry's hand tightly.

"I don't think it's just you," Harry said quietly, all of them making some kind of noise as the door opened and two bodies suddenly fell in. Draco near had a heart attack before he heard the voices of Ginny and Longbottom.

"What on earth are you two doing in here," Draco hissed, curling closer to Harry. Just to make room.

"Well, I was looking for Fred and George and found you lot, didn't I- Ow! Hermione, that was my foot!"

"Sorry, sorry! It's hard to see in here! Do either of you know why we're stopped?"

"No idea, was hoping you or someone else would know-"

"Ginny! Don't sit on _me_!" Oh, it was far too dark and crowded in here to-

" _Quiet_." Ah, Lupin was awake, his wand lit and pointed at the door.

Draco held Harry's hand tighter, giving him a worried glance. "Sir?" Lupin didn't respond, merely watching the door as Ginny and Neville nervously took a seat and squeezed in near them and it… It felt like it was getting colder. Why did he know this feeling? It was so dark, and lonely, and it felt like he would never be happy again- Oh.

Just as he saw the shadow outside the car, he could hear that cold, high laughter, he could hear all the screams echoing out of the manor, he heard the chaos of the battlefield, the flames roaring, _Severus, please-_

"-co." It was so _dark_. All of it was so, so, so _dark_. "-raco!" He just wanted it to stop... " _Draco!_ " Draco startled, looking around at all the worried faces.

"...I'm fine." He wondered if that lie sounded as weak to them as it did to him. He in no way felt fine...

"At least you're responding." Hermione had moved to study Harry who wasn't... He wasn't even looking at them. He was just staring at nothing, eyes wide and nothing but fear in his gaze.

"...Harry," Draco said with concern, cupping his cheek. "Harry." It took a moment - far too long a moment - before Harry's gaze skittered over to him, breath uneven as well. Draco rubbed his thumb under Harry's eye gently. "You're okay." This time it seemed he finally got through, Harry shuddering before he was burrowing as close to Draco as he could get, arms wrapped tight around him. Draco hugged him just as close, still shaking though the car was warm, now.

"They-" Hermione swallowed, sitting down across from them. "Professor Lupin- He called them dementors. He chased them off with some kind of spell."

"The patronus charm. Dementors… Are not friendly creatures." Merlin, how had he forgotten? Third year meant _dementors_. After what he had been through in the last year of the war no wonder they affected him so greatly. "Harry? Are you alright?"

"Of course." Harry's throat worked as if he was trying to swallow. "Yeah. 'M fine. Just a little shaken." That bad, then.

Draco began to bundle Harry up, tucking him under his chin. "C'mere," he mumbled. Harry shifted closer at once, relaxing into Draco's touch and burying his hands against his robes. It look like Hermione was about to say something before the door opened.

"Are they any better?" Ah, Lupin was back. It was nice that he asked about them, Draco supposed.

"We're fine," Draco told him quietly, running a hand through Harry's hair.

"I'm glad to hear you're doing better." Better, not fine. Hm. A sharp snap had Draco looking over, Lupin breaking up a chocolate bar before handing pieces out to everyone. "Here, this should help with the worst of it. Eat that and I'll be back soon, I need to check with the conductor and make sure they're all gone."

Draco sighted softly, taking a bite. "Man knows his stuff." Chocolate always did help with the worst of it. Nudging at Harry, Draco made sure he was taking bites of the chocolate before he was satisfied. "That… Was hell," Draco finally admitted.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered. "I never thought meeting one would actually be that bad. I mean, I knew they were bad, but that was..."

"Who screamed," Harry asked quietly from where he was still tucked against Draco.

"Harry," Hermione bit her lip, shaking her head. "No one screamed."

"That's what they do. They bring up all your worst memories for you to relive." What had Harry remembered that involved screaming? Or, maybe more accurately, what _hadn't_ he remembered. There were a lot of memories already that had screaming in them.

"No, it wasn't-" Harry shook his head, sighing. "Yeah. Guess so."

"Harry," Draco frowned, drawing away from him to tilt his chin up. "What is it?"

"I-" Harry bit his cheek, looking away before looking back to Draco and speaking quietly as he could, "It wasn't a memory."

"What was it?" Instead of answering, Harry only tugged his chin out of Draco's grip and looked out the window, stubbornly avoiding all of their worried looks. Draco sighed, but for now he didn't push. He only hesitantly took Harry's hand into his, looking down at his lap. At least Harry didn't push him off, only returning the grip and quietly eating his chocolate.

"It was bad," Ginny said, eating her own chocolate square. "It… It was really bad."

Draco looked to the other four. "How long were we…"

"No more than a few minutes. You came to just as the train started moving again, really."

He nodded, looking to Harry, again. "Right, right... Sorry about all that. Wasn't really expecting it."

"I don't think any of us were," Longbottom said quietly, offering a weak smile. "We all saw the worst of it." Hm. How had he ever seen Neville Longbottom as a Hufflepuff when he was such a _Gryffindor_. "We'll be okay though, I think."

"Eventually," Draco said softly. Even if it hurt that Harry wouldn't tell him anything, he knew that it was better now for the two of them to be together. Harry at least wasn't pulling away from him. That was enough for right now.

When the train stopped again, everyone began to stand and leave. Draco looked to them and shook his head. "Go on, we'll catch up." It took a few moments for them all to finally leave, the door closing softly and Draco taking a breath and-

"It wasn't a memory. There was a woman I didn't know screaming and saying 'not him.'"

Draco paused, sighing. "I… Harry, I think it's possible that _was_ a memory."

"Can we pretend it wasn't?" Harry smiled weakly, rubbing at his arm as he stood up. "There was… There was green light, too. I think it might have been a memory of my nightmares. I used to dream about that. Screaming and green light."

"The killing curse," Draco whispered. He could see it so clearly in his mind's eye- Harry remembered that? He… He remembered the death of his parents…

"The- The what?"

"The killing curse," Draco repeated. "It's one of three curses that is labelled Unforgivable, in our world. I've seen that light often enough to know what it means." Draco raised his wand, giving it a small flick. "You… Raise your wand, say the words, and that's that."

"That's all it takes to kill someone, huh?" Harry sighed, wrapping his arms around Draco's neck and gently kissing his cheek. "Sorry. I didn't want to say it around everyone else. It sounded a bit mad. Hearing voices in my head again."

"It wasn't just you," Draco sighed. "I heard… A lot more voices, I think." Harry tightened the hug, pulling Draco closer to him.

"How about we go to the feast and pretend this didn't happen and eat too much sugar?" Draco opened his mouth before closing it and leaning his forehead against Harry's.

"Alright. Let's go to the feast." Smiling, Harry twined his fingers with Draco's, leaning forward to brush their noses together.

"First sensible thing you've said all day." Draco rose, helping Harry to his feet and collecting all his supplies together. Ladened down with sketchbooks, pencils, and a few other assorted candies and objects, the two caught up to the others where a carriage was waiting for them.

Draco was actually starting to look forward to the feast when they arrived. Then McGonagall was calling their names, "Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Potter. With me, please." Draco frowned. Hermione? Why her, too? He gave the two a glance before following after McGonagall. "Stop looking so worried, Mr. Malfoy, none of you are in trouble."

"Forgive my concerns, Professor, but can you blame me?" Draco wasn't sure if she was glaring or smiling, which, yes, that rather summed up McGonagall, didn't it?

"First things first." They arrived at the woman's office - which was very close by - and had Madam Pomfrey waiting in it. "Professor Lupin owled ahead."

"Ah, right," Draco said softly. "That."

"What have you two done now?" Pomfrey had her arms crossed and was looking quite stern before bustling over to check them, eyeing Harry first. "I shouldn't even be surprised anymore."

"We're fine, Madam Pomfrey," Draco reassured her, gently waving her off.

"There were dementors, Poppy," McGonagall said, completely destroying Draco's attempts to reassure her.

"We're fine, though," Harry said quickly, backing away from Pomfrey. "Promise. We're completely fine - I mean, Professor Lupin gave us chocolate, so, uh, that helps?"

"Did he? Well, then at least he knows more than the _last_ professor," she huffed, checking them once more before finally leaving them alone. "Make sure to eat a bit more chocolate tonight before you go to bed, otherwise I'll feel no shame in locking you in the ward for a night." With that and a stern look, Pomfrey was leaving.

"Right. Mr. Potter, if you could wait out in the hall, please, I need to discuss with these two the classes they'll be taking this year." Though Harry and Draco shared confused looks, Harry gave her a nod. Giving Draco's hand a gentle squeeze, Harry left the room, shutting the door behind him. "This might surprise you both seeing as I was unable to put it in your letters, but myself, the Headmaster, and the Ministry have approved your course load and allowed you to take the extra classes you wished for." That… That seemed like a lot of people to ask to agree to this.

"Professor," Hermione began slowly. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but how are we to attend _all_ of the classes we asked for? Some of them are in the same hour." Oh, that was definitely a smile on McGonagall's face this time.

"That is why we needed Ministry approval." McGonagall walked to her desk and opened one of the drawers, pulling out two... Oh. _Oh_. "These are called time turners and they'll be the tools that will help you get to your classes." Draco's breath was stolen as he stared at the two necklaces, and suddenly he was back in that room with the man who was eerily similar to Slughorn, he played the part so well, and the glowing box with an hourglass of sand-

"-travel through time! The Ministry is really trusting us with such a thing?" Hermione was eager and near bouncing beside him with glee, Draco trying to focus on what they were saying and shove the memories away as far as they could go.

"Yes, after I wrote them a glowing letter of the type of work the two of you do, they were more than willing to accept. And I do hope that you two understand the sort of responsibility that caring these requires."

"Of course! They're some of the rarest magical artifacts in the world!" Hermione gently took the one that was held out towards her, biting her lip and looking at Draco and then McGonagall. "We can't tell anyone about this, can we?"

McGonagall's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "I would certainly hope you two understood the discretion that must be held with something like this! No, I expect neither of you to say a word of this to anyone. Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Draco took his own, half braced for something horrible to happen and for some magic backlash to hit him. A few moments of staring at the lightly swinging time turner and Draco finally carefully and hesitantly put it on and tucked it under his robes. "One turn, one hour, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, that is correct."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said beside him gleefully. "We won't prove you wrong."

"We'll be very careful with them - and quiet." Mostly.

"Alright, then. Go on, you two. Don't miss the feast." McGonagall followed after them into the hall, raising an eyebrow at a very bored looking Harry who was crouched down and drawing something in his sketchbook that he still was clutching onto.

Draco smiled and nudged Harry with his foot before holding his hands out to the boy. Blinking up at them, Harry flushed slightly before tucking the book away and accepting Draco's help and holding his hand as they headed towards the Great Hall. Draco didn't say anything to Harry, only walking with him to the Great Hall as the two smiled, hand-in-hand.


	6. A Grim Tale

Draco had to admit he was ridiculously pleased at waking up with Harry curled up on top of him, hair a mess, pillow lines pressed into his face, and a bit of drool leaking out of the younger's mouth as he clung to Draco tightly and fiercely. Draco nudged Harry gently, running a hand through his hair. "Harry, love. Time to wake up."

Groaning, Harry twitched at the hand in his hair before somehow relaxing even _more_ , pleased and content smile on his face. Chuckling softly, the blond continued to nudge him. "Come on. Get up." There was a soft whine, the sound rumbling in the back of Harry's throat as he slid off of Draco just enough to cuddle into his side.

"What if I say I'm not awake?"

"Then I'm afraid I'd have to call you a liar."

"That'd be rude of you." Harry groaned, shifting and moving to where he was near nuzzling right under Draco's jaw, which, hm, not a bad feeling, really. "I don't wanna wake up."

"You have to, Harry. It's time for school." Draco hummed softly, tilting his head up. That was actually nice. Dozing off maybe just a little bit, Draco blinked when Harry sat up and gave a wide yawn. Looking closer, his hair was a fluffed up curly mess, his eyes were still a little glazed, and the smile he had on was utterly _perfect_. "Morning," Draco hummed.

"Morning," Harry grinned back, rubbing at his eyes before shoving at Draco. "C'mon, food."

"Harry, do you really expect me to go out there looking like this?" Draco sat up, rubbing at his own eyes.

"You know, one day the others will see what you truly look like and I can promise they won't run away screaming in fear." Harry laughed, stretching out and face scrunched up in a happy grin. "I mean, have you seen Ron?"

Draco scoffed, swatting at Harry's arm. "Don't you compare me to him! Have you seen what he looks like in the mornings?!"

"See, that's my point! You look better than all of us without even trying." Harry was still laughing as he caught Draco's hand, looking beyond happy to finally be home again.

Draco finally laughed, tugging Harry up and out of bed. "Well, the fact remains, I need to attend to myself before I reveal myself to the public. Unless... You want me to help you, too?"

"You know, I could be wrong- I'm good at being wrong, after all, but I _think_ I remember telling you that I never in my life wearing makeup everyday like you do."

"No, no, not like me. And I was thinking, just for today..." Draco gave Harry a smile. "You'll let me comb your hair?" That had Harry blinking, hand raising absently to brush through his hair with a frown.

"I mean- I guess? I don't really mind when you brush it, but why?"

"Well, I know you don't really like them, but I rather like your curls."

"I don't- It's not that I don't _like_ them, I guess, I just-" Harry finally gave a shrug. "Like I told you at the ball, I thought they looked stupid so I either kept them tangled or kept them straight."

"Well then, come on," Draco laughed, pulling Harry towards the bathroom. "I plan on changing that." Somehow, even with summer having ended, it still felt like summer. Maybe it was just that sense that here, tucked away in the dorm room with their friends sleeping around them, nothing really _bad_ could happen.

"Okay, okay, but no makeup!" Harry smiled, the look growing soft as he moved to wrap Draco in a hug. "You're probably the best thing to happen to me, you know."

"Of course I know," Draco said with a smirk. "I'm amazing. Now come on, let's get going. We don't want to run late."

Surprisingly, it didn't take all that long to get Harry's hair in order - it was probably because Harry wasn't fighting against him and instead rambling on and on about what they needed to do, the classes they needed to start studying for right away, the things they needed to do _before_ they started studying. Really, it was a never ending ramble of words and jokes and laughter and a bubbly, giggly attitude that was better than anything else. Draco beamed before bending down and kissing at Harry's cheek before he started on his own makeup. "Go ahead and get dressed. I'll be out in just a few moments."

"Mm- Yes- Ah- Yes! Yes, I'll go do that." Harry at least waited until Draco didn't have anything near his face before he was hugging him tightly and then running off and honestly. Draco only took a couple minutes to get himself together, very well settled into his morning routine, by now. When he left the bathroom, he made for his trunk to get himself together for the day.

"This is going to be an amazing year." It seemed the other boys were still asleep, though. Well, Draco supposed he and Harry would be getting the best breakfast-

"Certainly going to be interesting." Harry was sitting on the end of the bed, fingertips around the time turner that had slipped out from under his shirt when he had bent down. "What's this?"

"Oh." Draco took back the time turner gently. "I swore to McGonagall that I wouldn't talk about it." Draco turned away from Harry as he got himself together. "Did you know that Hermione and I got our schedules approved, this year?"

"Your schedules?" Harry frowned, watching Draco before he saw the spot of realization. "Time turners." Wait- Wait, he had told Harry about that? He didn't remember telling Harry about _time turners_.

"Hang on- How do you know about that?" Draco frowned, his head tilting at Harry.

"Back in first year." Harry studied the time turner before standing up and tucking it back under Draco's shirt. "You told me about the time twister, yeah, but you also told me about time turners."

"Oh." Draco hummed softly. "I don't remember." He took the time turner back out, letting it hang before smiling. "Mind if I rope you into a lie, in case anyone asks?"

"Depends on the lie. Do I look good or bad in it?"

"Oh, good. _Extremely_ good."

"Lie to your heart's content," Harry laughed, smile falling into something nervous and cheeks starting to get a bit red. "Hey, Dray…"

"Yes, Harry?" Draco held his hand out to Harry so they could go down to breakfast together. Harry stared at him for a moment before grinning and taking his hand, leaning against him and- Oh. Kissing his cheek.

"Nothing important really- At least, nothing you don't already know, I guess." Draco felt his face warm before his hand tightened around Harry's.

"Harry… We should probably-"

"Oh my god, shut up already," Finnigan groaned from his own bed. "We get it, you're dating, stop flaunting it."

"We- How dare- We are _not-_ " At least, not officially? Which was what Draco wanted to talk to Harry about.

"You alright, Seamus?" Harry frowned, looking far too worried over no real reason. "Hey, I'm sure he'll stop being an idiot, okay? I mean, maybe you might have to be a bit more obvious, but it's probably going to work out."

"Harry," Draco said softly, tugging him along. "We should talk-"

"'Bout what?" Harry followed after him, swinging their hands back and forth.

Draco felt himself flush, again. "Well- Well, about-"

"Oi, wait up, you two!" A sudden shove at their backs and Ron had an arm around both their shoulders, grinning widely. "Going down to breakfast? Because that's something we should do. Now."

"Ah- Yes. Yes, we were. Actually-"

"I know, mate, this year's going to be great. No more giant snakes, no spiders all over the castle, classes we actually got to pick. Hey, what do you think Divination is gonna be like?"

"Dray says it's a wooly discipline," Harry recited, trying not to laugh. "I think it's gonna be pretty okay."

"It's very imprecise. You either understand it, or you don't, so taking the class in general is a bit of a gamble."

"I'm basically hearing we get to sleep through it. Hope History of Magic comes right after it. That's a few extra hours sleep right there." Merlin, these two were incorrigible when they were together.

"Alright, _fine!_ I'm going down to breakfast by myself and I'm going to start on my studying!"

"Alright, 'Mione." Draco scoffed, walking faster to keep walking ahead of them. _Honestly._

"Hey, Dray!" Harry's raised voice had him at least glancing back, the teen smiling at him. "We'll talk after classes, okay?"

"...Alright," Draco sighed, giving him a smile. He had waited this long, so he supposed he could wait a bit longer.

::

"How the bloody hell are you two managing to take all these classes?" Ron was looking at Draco and Hermione's schedules, shaking his head. "You've got classes in the same block!"

"Do we? That's strange." Draco looked over to Hermione. "I think it best that we stay together, so which class did you want to go to, first?"

"Oh, I suppose it doesn't really matter, does it? Maybe Divination, first, though, since... Well." Hermione looked between Ron and Harry before putting on 'boys are so stupid' expression.

"Alright. Though, you should know..." Draco gave a sheepish expression. "He found out on his own."

"He- It hasn't even been a _day_!" Hermione looked to Harry with an absolutely exhausted expression. Harry raised an eyebrow and looked so much like a Slytherin that Draco was a little bit smitten.

"Maybe one day you'll learn that a lack of book knowledge does not mean a lack of _practical_ knowledge."

Draco watched him and smiled, a hand to his chest. "I'm in love."

"I know." Wait- Wait, what? Harry only smirked, sipping at his tea. "So, Divination first, then. Seems like it's gonna be interesting."

"Ex- Ex _cuse_ me?"

"Well, you're my friend, aren't you?" Harry was screwing with them. He was screwing with all of them, he had to be.

"...I'm leaving you." Not that they were... Together? Oh, this was so confusing.

"So, wait, are- Are they together or?" It was the boys from their dorm that were looking the most confused, Finnigan looking at them with wide eyes.

Draco looked to Harry with a similar sort of glance. "Ah..."

"We should probably go if we don't want to be late. Divination is all the way up in the North tower," Harry said simply, dragging Draco's schedule over and starting to draw on it. Draco stared, because, okay, Harry usually gave it up by now so was it just- Did _Harry_ not even know what they were? Draco absolutely didn't know what they were, but since Harry had been initiating everything, he had hoped that Harry had some sort of idea as to what they were. It was a bit comforting that they were both so inexperienced and confused in this, however.

Under the table, Harry carefully wrapped his fingers around Draco's, Draco looking down to see that Harry had doodled hourglasses next to all the classes he would need to use the time turner on. Draco smiled, simply looking down at the schedule as he leaned into Harry's side. "You're right. We should get going. It'll take us a bit to get there, I think."

"Definitely dating," Thomas sighed, shaking his head. "You lot can go on ahead, but I'm going to finish my breakfast, thanks." He immediately slapped Finnigan's hand away from where he was trying to sneak the bacon away. "Don't even think it." Draco and Harry watched Thomas and Finnigan before sharing looks with each other and bursting into laughter.

"Oi, what's so funny!" Just- It all made no damn sense, Draco didn't know what was going to be happening this year, the Dementors were still lingering at the corners of his mind, but oh- Oh, this was just- He was home. Everything would be okay.

::

"At last… The mists have parted at last." ...Pardon. What the hell was this? Draco had been listening to Harry complain about the long trip and get his breath back, but this... This _whatever_ \- because she could certainly not be a teacher - was staring at them all with wide eyes that were further magnified by the thickest glasses Draco had ever seen. "I see you all at last." With those glasses, how could she? Draco rose an eyebrow to his friends, leaning against Harry and whispering softly.

"This _must_ be a joke." Instead of reprimanding him, Harry was only looking at this new professor with wide eyes and looking to be shaking from trying not to laugh.

"Hush," Hermione snapped at him with narrowed eyes. Oh, please.

"I must admit, my students, I have not seen you beyond my crystal gazing, but I feel as if I already know you so well… Yes. The Scholar, the King, the Seer, and the Survivor." The... The what? The scholar, the king, the... Oh. Oh, all of a sudden this was a lot less funny. "Such a gift time has given us all."

"Alright, maybe a bit of a joke," Hermione muttered, shaking her head. "She's not even making sense-"

"Hermione, _hush,_ " Draco shushed her, shooting her a glare. Hermione looked startled and Harry sat up, looking between Draco and this- This _Seer_.

"I'm afraid I should best tell you now that this is not a class where books will guide your way. If this bothers you, well, then, perhaps you had best speak to your Head of House soon, my dears. For those of you wishing to stay… Yes." The woman looked around the room, eyes landing on Draco. "Yes, this class will help you well." Draco could only stare up at her with wide eyes, breath caught in his chest. What… Just what all had this woman Seen?

"For those of who you are not aware, my name is Sybill Trelawney and I will be guiding you through the paths of the future as you discover your way." It- Draco could see why the students were trying not to laugh, but they didn't _know_ \- How could they not realize just how powerful this witch was? "We will be starting with naught but the basics, today." Draco was immediately getting his book out and turning the pages into the first chapter- Ah. Tea leaves, of course. That made sense.

"If you all will gather your cups from up here, please." A wave of her hand and teacups were lining up on a table pressed against the back. Pausing by Neville, Trelawney patted his hand. "Gather a blue after you break the first one, dear. I'm rather fond of the floral ones."

Draco gasped softly. "She's bloody _brilliant._ "

"What'd she say?" Harry nudged at his side, Draco only slightly distracted by the bouncing curls- They were just so good on him! "About it all, what'd she say that's got you convinced?"

"I'll tell you later," Draco promised, holding his hand tightly and beaming. "This is going to be a great class."

"I remain unconvinced," Hermione sniffed, standing up and heading towards the table. "Come on, then. I guess we need cups - although it'd probably help if she _told us_ why."

"You can't already tell," Draco asked with a frown. "We're going to read tea leaves. It's one of the most basic forms of Divination-"

"Well said, young Malfoy." Trelawney stared at him, Draco feeling slightly uncomfortable before she smiled. "No, I suppose it'd be young Black, wouldn't it? Yes, reading tea leaves is the basics of personal, broad Divination."

"M- Ma'am?" Young Black? Hardly anyone even knew that he was a Black.

"Nothing, dear, nothing. Go on and collect your cups." A sound of shattering glass had half the class jumping, Trelawney only smiling. "The blue one now, dear, thank you."

The moment Trelawney stepped away, Hermione scoffed. "That proves nothing. Every teacher in Hogwarts knows that Neville has always been clumsy."

"Hey." Longbottom frowned from where he was passing by, Harry stifling a laugh against Draco's shoulder. "I dunno, Hermione, I think she might be real here."

"She absolutely is," Draco confirmed. "You'll see soon enough, Hermione, Trelawney is no one to make a fool of."

"Hmph. We'll see." Hermione went to the table, Harry getting him and Draco a cup each as well. Harry's was half drained when he sat back down.

"Harry," Draco laughed quietly. "Don't drink _all_ of it." He would always find Harry's addiction to tea amusing.

"I'm thirsty," Harry huffed, leaning against Draco's side. "Seeing the future, huh?"

"That's what the whole class is about. Leave just a little tea at the bottom, then you can read the tea leaves." The classroom was mostly silent as they drank, Draco turning it all over in his mind. Scholar and Survivor was easy enough, but Seer and King? That was just… He had been a Prince of Slytherin. Perhaps she referred to that? But then, no… That didn't seem quite right, either. Just what could it be?

"Tell you what, mate, this all seems a bit barmy to me." Ron was squinting into his cup, tilting it and sloshing it around. "It supposed to be a certain amount of empty?"

"Just enough for the tea leaves to make a shape at the bottom," Draco sighed. He sipped at his own tea cup before setting it down. "Now, let's see…"

It definitely looked like _something_. A circle at this angle, but when he tilted it he was reminded of the moon. Another tilt and he thought he saw something like the time turners. "None of this makes sense," Hermione huffed. "It doesn't look like anything."

"I think I see a crown," Ron yawned, looking bored and tired. "Maybe it means I'm the reincarnation of King Arthur."

"I think that's a thing," Harry muttered, flipping through the pages.

"Bloody hell," Draco said softly. Ron. Ron Weasley- _Weasley is our king._ " _Bloody hell!_ "

"What? What's wrong? What's horrible thing just happened?" Ron awas looking ready to run, Harry giving Draco an odd look.

Draco was already rising out of his seat. "Harry? Bathroom?"

"Wha- Oh, yeah. Yeah, okay." Harry stood up and followed after him, Draco quickly dropping down through the trapdoor and oh. This was- This was just- "Dray- Dray, little help."

"Wha- Harry-" Draco looked over to see Harry... stuck. On the ladder. Draco sighed and helped him down, shaking his head. "Bloody hell. I wasn't- She- I didn't think-"

"Words, Dray, use all your words." Harry waited until he was off the ladder to hug Draco tight. "Thanks."

"She's a _real_ Seer, Harry," Draco told him. "She- I don't know if she's seen this future, or my time, but she _has_ seen the future."

"Seriously? How could you tell?" Harry looked back up to the trapdoor, shaking his head. "Does she know you're from the future?"

"I don't know. What she said earlier. The scholar, the king, the Seer, and the Survivor. Think about it, Harry. Really think. Hermione's always the scholar, you're the Survivor..."

"You think you're the Seer and- And Ron got that crown in his cup just now. Wait- Wait, does Ron become king of something?"

Draco snorted, crossing his arms. "King of Gryffindor, maybe. When I was in sixth year, I made up this song about how Weasley was our King because he kept scoring Slytherin points in Quidditch. Then... It went from there."

"Oh." Harry frowned, crossing her arms. "So- So was she seeing your time or are you gonna do that again or- I mean, this is- Dray."

"I know. That's the same conflict I'm facing, now. And if I do it in this time, does it become a self-fulfilling prophecy? But then I still don't understand 'the Seer.' Maybe that's as close as she could find to time travel? I'm not a real Seer."

"I- What if traveling through time made you one, though?" Harry frowned, lacing his fingers with Draco's and rocking on his heels. "It's not making sense. We're missing something here. It definitely feels like we're missing something."

"I know, but I can't tell _what._ " Draco huffed, shaking his head. "I don't understand it, Harry."

"We'll figure it out." Harry leaned forward and kissed at his cheek, the touch fluttering and light. "We should probably get back to class for now, though."

Draco smiled at Harry, holding his hand tightly. "Alright. We'll go back." Harry gave him a grin before letting go and climbing up the ladder again, Draco watching as the teen almost fell before he was scrambling the rest of the way up. Oh, Harry Potter. So graceful in the air and so uncoordinated on the ground. Draco couldn't help a quiet laugh as he followed Harry up.

"Shut up," Harry grumbled, taking his seat back by Ron and looking into his cup. "Really is a crown. She's good."

"You see what I mean?"

"What- What are you two talking about," Ron asked with a frown.

"Don't worry about it, mate. Hey, lemme see your cup, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Ron huffed. "Lemme look at yours then, and see what your future is."

Draco glanced over to Hermione, giving her a smile. "I'll look over yours, if you like."

"I-" Hermione puffed herself up before deflating just as quick, pushing her cup over. "Yes, alright. I suppose I should keep an open mind about all of this, but _honestly_. Seeing the future?" In response, Draco only looked down at his time turner, raising an an eyebrow at her. "But that just proves my point! No, look, listen, if people like us are about constantly changing time, then how could a Seer ever really see it? Would they be seeing what's going to happen or what was _supposed_ to happen? Perhaps there merely see the most likely outcome. Yes, I suppose _that_ at least would make a bit of sense- Oh, this is all so woolly!"

"I… I think it's a discipline that you just need to put a bit of faith in," Draco finally said. "You don't see how it all comes together until the end… Oh."

"Oh? Oh what? Draco, what are you 'oh'ing about?"

"Oh. Um. It's nothing, Hermione." Although Hermione gave him a studying look, she didn't press the matter and instead took his own teacup with a huff.

"It looks like a bunch of tea leaves." Oh, Hermione was going to do very poorly in this class.

"-bowler hat. Maybe you'll be Minister of Magic?" Ron might do worse, it seemed.

Draco sighed, shaking his head and looking down at Hermione's cup. "Huh." He tilted it, and tilted his head the other way. " _Huh._ "

"What." Hermione snapped, looking annoyed and honestly, this girl needed to learn some patience. "Well? Am I going to die or not?"

"Oh. No, no, nothing like that. You see," he showed her. "When you look at it this way, it looks like a dog, like... Like a greyhound. But when you look at it this way, it looks like a dragon."

"I take it that's supposed to mean something," Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "This is ridiculous. Human minds are _designed_ to find shapes and patterns in objects. It's one of our evolutionary quirks-"

"Wizarding World, 'Mione," Harry snorted. "I don't think they have science classes like we did."

"Evo… lution. I think my governess mentioned that once or twice." Hm, maybe it was in that Chemistry book Harry got him for his birthday last year. Looking back to them, Draco saw Hermione had her face buried in her hands and Harry was trying not to laugh. "What?" Draco frowned, looking over at Ron. "Do you understand what they're on about?"

"Not a clue, mate." Ron tilted Harry's cup before holding it towards him. "What do you think, a dog or a cat? Kinda looks like a mix, to be honest."

Harry frowned down at the cup, tilting his head. "...Dog. I think it's a dog." Harry took the cup, tilting it to the other way. "Dray, what do you think?"

"A dog. In fact, it reminds me a bit of Hyperion." Laughing, Harry gave a nod and set the cup down.

"It kind of does, huh? What do dogs mean, then? Does it mean we get to keep him?"

"No, it does not mean we're keeping him," Draco huffed, looking through the book. "Strange. Professor? What does a dog mean when you can't tell the breed?"

"Well, dear, it depends on the cup." Trelawney wandered over to them, gently taking the cup from Draco's hands. "Oh, dear me, this is not a happy cup. The falcon, an enemy, the club, an attack, the skull with danger in your path... Dear oh dear."

"I- I didn't see nearly that much," Draco said with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, that's merely me, dear. Some see much happier things at first. I've always rather had the talent of spotting the trouble first." Trelawney squinted, turning the cup about. "Now what's this..."

"The dog," Draco said. "We can't tell what kind." Turning it one final time, Trelawney's eyes went wide and scared, the woman shakily setting down the cup as she stumbled back.

"Oh, my- Oh, you poor dear." Trelawney looked as Harry as if someone told her he was going to die any second. Draco shared a frown with his friends, looking back up at her.

"Ma'am?" The professor shook her head, looking as if she was going to refuse to say anything before she spoke, voice hushed and ragged.

"Oh, dear boy... You have _the Grim_."

"The- The _Grim?_ " Draco questioned with wide eyes, looking back into the tea cup. "No, no- It just looks like the stray we picked up over summer!" That- The stray that was too smart and too quiet and too _knowing_.

"What's the Grim mean?" Harry was looking between them, a smirk on his face that did nothing to hide his worry. "A near death experience at the end of the year?"

"No," Draco said with a shake of his head, flashing back to Potter's body being carried into the courtyard, limp while _he_ proclaimed victory- "Death." Did- Potter had come back, but Draco was changing so much and did that mean that _Harry_ -

"Well, Death failed the last two years, so I think I'll be okay this one."

Draco stared at Harry before finally smiling. "Right. You're right. Of course."

"He really had the Grim, though?"

"I don't think a teacher would lie about that."

"The _Grim_ \- They can't mean _the Grim_ the grim, can they?"

"But it's Harry Potter..."

"Well? Let's see your cup, Draco dear. Surely a much more happy cup..." Handing it over, Draco watched Trelawney spin it around, the woman studying it before paling rapidly and setting the cup down. Staring down at them, Trelawney spoke in a high, shaking voice. "I believe that's enough for class today, everyone. Please gather your things and remember to read the first ten pages of your books. Yes… yes, that will be all."

Draco startled, looking back down to his cup. "Ma'am? What- What did you see?" He was given a pat to his head, Trelawney looking at him so sadly before looking to Harry and letting her eyes water. She then turned away and _flowed_ towards the back of the room, disappearing through a door. "What was that about?" Draco stared at the tea leaves. For the life of him, he couldn't see what had made Trelawney panic so badly.

"I think our new professor just predicted yours and Harry's deaths." Hermione brushed herself off, straightening everything out. "Now, shall we go on ahead to Care of Magical Creatures?" As she said it, she looked to Draco and adjusted the collar of her- Ah.

"I think you're right," Draco nodded and looked at Harry. "I need to review the lesson with Hermione for a moment."

"Why- Oh. Oh! Yeah, right, me and Ron will just go on ahead. We'll catch up to you later. In time." Harry laughed as he dragged off a protesting and confused Ron. "Bye, Dray!"

"We'll be just a few moments!" Draco smiled at him, turning back to Hermione. "One or two?"

"I would like to do two to be safe, but that would be giving us a lot of extra time," Hermione frowned, watching the last few students leave the room. "We should find an empty hall, first."

"But it might not be empty when we jump back," Draco pointed out. "Follow me, I know a few spaces that are hard to find."

"We'd best do two hours in that case, so we're not late. Do you think we'd be able to do one and a half turns? You think this would be more precise. Honestly, you wizards. Just use a pocket watch as the model and it would be much less messy."

"It's not us wizards," Draco huffed as he led her down the ladder. "The man that made them is bloody barmy. An eccentric."

"And just how would you know that? The man who invented these probably lived decades ago!"

"Oh. Er... That's just what I heard," he covered up quickly, turning away and walking swiftly down the hall. Right, he'd have to be careful around Hermione with all his time turner knowledge.

"Yes, and _where_ did you hear it? You can't just tell me something I don't know and then walk away."

"Watch me!"

"Draco!"


	7. Omens, Flights, and Friends

**A/N: Apologies for the tardiness, the two of us have both had a lot on our plate, but we hope you still enjoy the new chapter. ~Kas**

* * *

"No, no, it's this way, down past the painting of the old man with the crying child. You're going to take us right around to the other side of the school at this rate!"

"Hermione, I _think_ I know where I'm going a little better than you do." Honestly, this girl was-

"Here we are, right down this hallway. Come on, then, we're going to be late if you keep holding us up."

"I told you so," he huffed, crossing his arms before immediately brightening as he entered the class. "Blaise! Pans!"

"Over here, Dray!" Pansy was waving them over to some saved seats at once, smile wide and bright. "I knew _you two_ would be taking this class. Theo, Greg, and Vince all signed up for Divination."

"...Did they?" He didn't remember seeing them in there. That could mean trouble. He would have to be very careful about that.

"I'm sure they'll have fun," Hermione waved off, sitting by Blaise and giving a small smile. "Have you started reading the textbook, then? I found that Chapter Five is going to be the most fun for us."

"Really? I was thinking Chapter Seven, myself." Draco only rolled his eyes at the two, sitting beside Pansy.

"How are you?"

"Much better now that you're here," Pansy grinned, cuddling up to his side and leaning against him. "Draaay. I never see you anymore!"

" _Pans._ You can look over and see me at every meal." The girl whined and near hung off of him, Draco too busy trying not to laugh to really be upset at the action.

"It's not the _same_ , darling. You and Harry need to spend more of your meals with us. We'll even put up with Granger and Weasley if you want to bring them over!"

"I'm sure that some sort of an arrangement could be made," he said with a smile. "Maybe lunches together." Though if they started bringing entire entourages to different tables… Maybe they eat somewhere else?

"I think lunch together sounds wonderful. It'll give me just enough time to get it out of you on why you're not telling me that you and Harry are dating." Oh, dear. "Honestly, Dray, of all the people not to tell."

"Pansy, it… It's not…" This was exactly why Draco and Harry needed to talk. So they at least knew what they were. It wasn't like much would change if they put a label on it, but... It was for reasons like _this_.

"Come on, I saw you two at his birthday ball. You wouldn't leave each other's sides, you only danced with each other, and then you _disappeared_ at the same time."

"Well yes. Harry got overwhelmed by it all and I went with him to be certain he was alright. And he asked me beforehand if out would be alright to dance together."

"Mm." Pansy stared at him steadily, finally sighing and crossing her arms. "Fine. I'll believe you. For now. How did he like all his presents?"

"He adored each and every one. Even the textbook from Uncle Sev." Draco smiled a bit into the distance. "It is nice to spoil him."

"Something you do remarkably well, darling. I'm surprised he hasn't already changed his last name to Malfoy. You do know all of the wizarding families are aware of what happened?"

"Oh, yes, I saw that nasty article from Skeeter. And I'm really not surprised. His name is one of the few things of his parents he has left."

"You are far too kind, darling," Pansy sighed, patting at Draco's arm. "I'm just glad he's settling in with you all. He was so skittish when we all first met and last year when we left seemed the worst."

"Can you blame him? Last year was awful for the both of us, Pansy. I'm still getting nightmares about it." Silent for a moment, Pansy linked their arms and rested her cheek against his shoulder.

"Yes, well, none of that nasty business this year, I'm afraid. It's going to be normal and boring-"

"Yeah, normal and boring as it gets with Sirius Black on the loose and dementors swarming the castle," Blaise interrupted, grinning at Pansy's nasty look. "We wouldn't know what to do with normal."

"Yes, well. I have a good feeling all this Sirius Black business is nothing to worry ourselves over too terribly," Draco proclaimed. He noticed Hermione's eyes narrow as she seemed to examine him. That probably wouldn't turn out well for him.

"I agree with Draco," Pansy sighed, brushing her skirts out. "We're surrounded by _Dementors_. Sirius Black isn't getting in here and he's especially not getting anywhere near our dear Harry." Draco opened his mouth to argue that Sirius Black wouldn't hurt Harry before realizing that wasn't common information. With a huff, he simply got his book out and turned to the first chapter.

He would need to be more careful with what he said and what he knew this year. Things were already getting all twisted with Hermione knowing about time turners. It wouldn't take much for her to piece together the rest of it all. "So. Ancient Runes," he finally said with a nod.

"I have to admit, I'm looking forward to this class." Oh, well of course _Blaise_ was. "Don't give me that look. You know I like studying languages."

"Yes, I know," Draco sighed. "Ancient Runes are actually incredibly interesting, from what I looked over during the summer."

"It's supposed to be one of the original magical languages. Think how much this will apply to all our other studies!" Hermione was beaming and already flicking through her book, Draco trying not to laugh.

He opened his mouth to get a word in- "Oh, I know," Blaise picked up. "Especially in Charms and in History of Magic! We'll be ages ahead of the others!"

"Oh, I hear it's supposed to be so good when it comes to charmwork, especially with all the older spells."

"I don't think we're getting a word in with those two," Pansy laughed.

"Hmph." Draco felt a bit put out, by that. He was supposed to be the knowledgeable one.

"You can't be that upset," Pansy said, waving her hand about. "It's Granger and _Blaise_. Really, it was as obvious as you and Harry, dear."

"What- Pansy, what on earth do you mean?"

"Draco." Pansy was looking at him with a pitying look. "They may not quite be together yet, but it's obvious to see they're crushing on each other." Wha- What?!

" _What?_ " Draco hissed to her, shooting Hermione and Blaise small, betrayed looks. How could they not even confide in him over something as important as this!

"Come on, Dray, it's obvious. They're always spending time together and all they do is talk and talk and _talk_. Plus those looks. Really, I thought you would have seen it first."

"Looks? What looks? I haven't seen any looks!" How could he have been so oblivious to all of this? Surely it wasn't that obvious- Wait. Hadn't Harry joked about Blaise and Hermione liking each other last year? Maybe? Oh, this was just...

"Those looks." What? Hermione and Blaise were just looking at each other with the same look they always had on!

"I don't see anything different about them, Pansy," Draco huffed, crossing his arms. Pansy merely stayed silent, arching her brow in a silent gesture of 'you idiot'. "What? They look the same as always!"

"Oh, Draco." Pansy shook her head, getting her book out. "I suppose we had pay attention. Class looks as if it's ready to start." Hmph. Hermione and Blaise. Crushing on each other! It was absolutely ridiculous! Draco would just tell Harry and get his support and put this whole kerfuffle to rest.

::

"Relax, Ron, Draco's probably just explaining to Hermione about what he saw in her cup, or something. Actually, no, he's probably trying to stop Hermione from killing the new professor. Dont' worry about it."

Alright, Draco. Make something up. "And the crown obviously meant success and riches." Ah, it was so amusing to see Ron clutch at his chest in absolute terror.

"Good, I don't think I want Ron becoming king of Britain," Harry grinned, falling back to walk beside Draco.

"Certainly not," Draco said with a grin. "He already eats like he's one."

"Oi!"

"So," Harry said, lowering his voice. "Have fun in Ancient Runes?"

"Oh, that reminds me," Draco huffed. " _Please_ help me explain to Pansy later that Hermione and Blaise do not have crushes on each other." As expected, Harry leapt to agree with him, only... Only Harry wasn't saying anything. Why wasn't he saying anything? "...Harry. Harry, you agree with me. They can't possibly like each other."

"Oh, boy." Wha- What was that supposed to mean! "Dray, um, they- Well. Oh, jeez, this- This explains a lot. Uh- Okay, so- Right." Harry cleared his throat, rubbing at the back of his neck. "They, uh, they look at each other like we look at each other?"

"...Meaning?" Draco rose an eyebrow at him. "I don't look at you any differently than I look at them."

"Oh, no, you do- You- You really- Jeez, Dray." Harry suddenly looked _downtrodden_. "I thought I was being pretty obvious about it all. If you didn't want to talk about _that_ then what did you wanna talk about this morning?"

"What- Oh- Uh- Well. Perhaps we should… Wait? Until we have a little more… privacy?"

"Ri- Right, that'd probably be best." Harry cleared his throat again. "They do, though, you know. At least, I know Blaise likes Hermione. I'm not sure if Hermione knows it yet, though."

"How could I have not noticed?" Draco frowned, glancing over to Hermione and Ron, the two caught up in some argument or other. "It's always been-" Before he could reveal anything else, Draco quickly cut himself off.

"It's always been what?" Harry frowned, nudging at Draco. "Hey, is it a future thing? Dray, tell me. What is it? Is it about who Hermione ends up with? I bet that's it. You were too surprised at Blaise liking her. Who is it?"

" _Harry,_ " Draco finally huffed. "You know I shouldn't tell you." Harry only blinked up at him, finally shifting closer and linking their arms together. Draco turned his head away, even as he walked closer to Harry. "I'm still not telling you."

"That's fine." Oh? Harry was suddenly a lot softer and quieter, small smile on his face as he relaxed against Draco. "Think you're gonna like Ancient Runes, then?" Draco smiled over at Harry, tilting his head so that their heads bumped together gently.

"I already know that I do. I took it last time." Laughing, Harry beamed.

"Then you won't have too much trouble. Hey, what's Hagrid's lessons gonna be like in Care of Magical Creatures?"

"Terrifying," he huffed. "He brings in giant beasts, probably twenty feet tall, and they all breath fire and try to eat you and claw at you all at the same time!" Instead of scared, Harry only looked excited and right, Harry Potter. Idiot thrill seeker. "I swear, and you _complain_ about facing death, every year."

"Well, yeah, but I mean those creatures sound exciting. Plus, I mean, I trust Hagrid to keep us safe. Not so much the mad man still out for my life."

"Harry. Fine. You can go have fun petting the ferocious, man-eating monsters, but I will stay far away, thank you very much."

"It's okay, Dray," Harry grinned, leaning up to kiss at Draco's cheek. "I'll protect you." Draco felt his face heat to what felt like boiling as he only let out a sound similar to 'eep' before he quickly walked ahead of the rest of them.

"Right. You're definitely not dating," Hermione called after him, Draco hearing a wild laugh from Harry, the traitor.

"Shut up," he cried back at her, his voice traitorously high and squeaky.

"This is going to be a great school year, don't you think, 'Mione?"

"The best, yet."

"I have to agree with you two."

Ugh. Meddlesome trio.

It didn't take long for Draco to get down to Hagrid's cabin the way he was hurrying ahead of them. The close he got, the more he was starting to remember his _own_ first Care of Magical Creatures class, and the slower his pace became. Maybe he could feign injury before class and run? He finally came to a stop just at the bottom of the hill, warily looking at the hut. Perhaps... Perhaps he could sneak off? There would be enough students, it would be easy enough.

Yes. Yes, sneaking off would be the best- "Dray?" Oh, Harry had caught up. "Hey, Dray, you okay?"

"Oh. Um. Actually, Harry, I think I'm coming down with something. I may need to go back up to the castle."

"Uh huh." Harry raised an eyebrow, not looking one bit believing of his story. Damn. Harry used to be a lot more gullible. "Wanna try the truth?"

"I…" Draco startled when the door of the cabin swung open. Hagrid was coming out with Fang jumping about at his heels, grin wide and proud on his face. He also had a dead polecat hanging off his shoulder.

"Oh, boy," Harry mumbled beside him. "That- You were joking about the twenty foot beasts, right?"

"Ah, mostly. I hope so, at least." Draco stepped behind Harry, holding his hand tightly and lacing their fingers together.

"Dray?" Harry frowned, holding his hand back just as tightly as the rest of the class started arriving. "Hey, is something going to happen today? Something we need to prevent? Just tell me what to do, okay."

"I, ah… I'll just stay back here, if that's alright." Draco looked away from Harry staring down at the ground. It wasn't- What had happened his fault. It would be best if he just stayed out of the way as much as possible.

"Okay. We'll just stay at the back today. How's that sound?"

"That does sound much better." Hagrid led them over to the fenced area, and the two - of course - ended up at the front. But it was fine. Hagrid would pick Harry, and Harry would make friends with the giant bird, and Draco would stay far away.

"Good on ya, you two! Here, why don't come here, Draco." What. "Just come up nice and slow and give 'im a bow."

"I... Um..." Draco turned his head away and gave a weak cough. Maybe somebody would save him? Except no one was jumping up to sacrifice themselves to a bunch of hippogriffs and Harry was shifting uncomfortably beside him and looking torn between stepping forward and stepping back. Finally - finally - Harry took a breath and _pushed him forward_. Draco squeaked as he stumbled forward, shooting Harry a hurt look before turning back around. When the hippogryph caught sight of him, Draco felt rooted to the spot.

"Easy does it, Draco." Yes, that was all well and nice for _Hagrid_ to say, the twelve-foot half-giant! "Just take a nice, easy bow and make eye contact - don't blink too much, though. They never trust those who blink too much."

"Neither do I," Draco huffed. He took a deep breath and slid into a low bow, looking up at the beast. There was a long stretch of time where fierce, golden eyes caught on his, the creature fluffing his wings, stomping his talons against the ground and- And slowly dropping into a bow. Draco's eyes widened as he slowly rose to stand up straight again, the hippogryph mimicking him and clacking its beak.

"Well done, Draco, well done!" Hagrid was beaming, looking extremely proud that his class was doing so well. He really was a good teacher. "Right, I think he'll let you pet him now. C'mon, come closer."

"Oh. Um… Alright." Draco slowly walked closer, glancing to Hagrid for guidance. The man was keeping a firm hand on the hippogriff's neck, gesturing for Draco to come around to the side.

"There we are, just stroke him right through the feathers here- Careful not to stroke up, he won't like that. There you are, simple as can be!"

"...Oh. They're softer than I thought." Buckbeak - yes, that was right, that was the name - was softer than Draco would have assumed by just looking. Buckbeak was looking at him every now and then, seeming to not much care, but curious nonetheless.

"Right, I think he'll let you ride 'im now."

"Pardon me." He must have misheard hagrid, it sounded like he said he was going to _ride_ the giant bird.

"Oh, it's easy as can be. Just get you up here." Sputtering and yelping, Draco was 'helped' onto the back of the bloody beast, Hagrid grinning. "Right, just hold on tight, now, but don't pull out any of his feathers. He won't thank you for that!" With that, Hagrid was slapping Buckbeak into motion.

"Hag- Hagri- _Hagrid!_ " Draco quickly wrapped his arms around Buckbeak's neck, shaking and holding onto the beast as it took off into the air. It was- This was _nothing_ like a broom! This was- Buckbeak was rising into the air rapidly and Draco knew that if he fell off he wouldn't be catching himself like he might have been able to if he was flying in a _sensible_ manner. "Please," Draco pleaded. "Please, _please_ don't drop me. I take back every awful word I've said, I take back every curse I ever dealt out, _please._ "

The horrible, awful, _brute_ of a beast had no care for his pleas, only climbing high and drifting out over the lake and okay, that was good, Draco could at least not _die_ if he fell into the lake. That was… Oh, wow. Being inside or so near to Hogwarts, he so rarely got to see the entire building at once, but this… It felt like he was a first year again, riding the boats to a castle of wonder. His breath was caught in his throat as Buckbeak rose higher and higher, Draco seeing the castle at it's proudest and he… He was going to keep it this way. Hogwarts would never be broken like it had been in his seventh year. She would never surrender. Draco would promise it- He _promised_ it.

Buckbeak began to glide back down to the little clearing, landing with hardly a sound. Draco slowly slid off his back, grinning widely. "Can I go again?" That got a booming laugh out of Hagrid, Draco managing to grin even more before he had to scramble to not fall to the ground from where some idiot had just _tackled_ \- Oh, it was his idiot. "I'm alright," Draco said with a beaming smile at Harry. "That was fun. You should try it."

"Maybe." Harry was pressing against him and patting him down, tilting him this way and that. "Are you sure you're okay? That was really high- Oh, Dray, I'm sorry, I thought you just needed a push or something I didn't think- Are you alright!"

"Harry," he laughed, running a hand through the teens curls and kissing his cheek. "I already told you I'm alright." Draco watched as Buckbeak shoved his beak at Harry's head, the teen making a choked sound in the back of his throat and spinning around before staring with wide eyes. A moment passed and Harry _cooed_.

"Oh, you're _beautiful_." Harry dropped into a bow, waiting to Buckbeak to return it before darting forward and combing a hand through his feathers, Hagrid laughing yet again.

"Atta boy, Harry!"

"He's not so bad," Draco told him with a grin, petting Buckbeak as well. That had been a rush. He should go again.

"Well, what are you all waiting for," Hagrid boomed. "Find a partner and let's see how you all get along!" Apparently seeing Draco sacrificed had made the rest of the class warm up to hippogriffs rather quickly, Draco watching them all find a creature to bow or curtsey to. Longbottom was running away from his already. Draco couldn't help a laugh as he bounded over to Longbottom.

"It's really not as bad as you think it is. Trust me. You just give it a right proper bow, like your grandmother taught you." Although Longbottom gave him a look as if _he_ was the crazy one, he nodded and went back to try again, Draco beaming when he managed to do it correctly. "There, you see? Not so bad- Oh, Pansy! You've gotten so much better!"

"You're scaring people more than you usually do," Blaise commented, moving to stand beside him. "Nice to know the only thing needed to improve your attitude is to have a hippogriff almost drop you."

"It was fun, you should try it, Blaise! You'd enjoy it! Freedom, the wind in your hair. Things you like!"

"That'd be you and Potter," Blaise snorted, shaking his head. "Honestly, he was ready to grab a broom and fly up after you when you wanted to be let down. Never seen him that scared before, actually."

"Oh, he was probably just being dramatic. It wasn't nearly that bad!"

"Draco dear, have you seen your hair?"

"No. Why?"

"Pansy, no, you'll know what he'll do-" Harry's strange behavior was 'too late,' Draco supposed, as Pansy was pulling out her compact mirror and holding it up for Draco. Draco frowned, looking into the compact mirror. When he caught sight of his hair, he promptly screeched.

" _Harry James Potter!_ " Looking up, Draco let out an even shriller sound when he saw the damn brat was _running away_. "You get back here! Coward! You come and fix this right now!"

"Aw, look how cute he is when he's afraid," Pansy cooed, watching Harry weave his way between the others of the class and hide behind Hagrid. The coward. "I bet you could probably get him begging for you, darling."

Draco was ready to yell some more before he paused and looked back at Pansy. "What do you suggest?"

"Well, we have a few options available to us, really. I'd usually suggest shutting him out and ignoring him for an hour at least, but not only do I think you can't last that long, but ignoring him for even fifteen minutes is probably enough to break his spirit. We'll have to try to guilt him another way."

Draco slowly smirked at her. "I have an idea." With that, he was turning away from Harry, but not before shooting him a hurt glance.

"Oh, that's dreadful," Pansy murmured, giving him a nod to let him know that Harry had doubled back and was now, probably very cautiously, approaching.

"Dray?"

"What," Draco huffed, arms crossed firmly on his chest. He was going to make Harry crawl on hands and knees.

"Oh, Dray." At least, that was the plan, but then Harry's arms were wrapping around his waist and the younger was resting his forehead against the center of his back and Draco could _hear_ that smile. "You're always so dramatic."

"Harry," Draco whined at him. "You know I take good care of my hair! Now look at it! It's worse than when I roll out of bed, and it's tangled all to hell, and- And-"

"And I think it makes you look great," Harry laughed, only letting him go long enough to slip around so they were now face-to-face. "It makes you look very dashing. Reminds me what it looks like after we play a game of Quidditch. And Dray, if you can turn my hair into _this_ , then you can fix yours in a flash."

"Harry, my hair _never_ gets this bad! Do you realize what all I'm going to have to do to it to get it right, again? It's going to take ages! I'm going to need another shower!"

"Dray, you shower every morning and night, I doubt that's much of a change." Ugh! Why was he making it so hard to be upset! "You'll be fine, Dray." Harry kissed his cheek, a hand coming up to work through his hair. "'Sides, I like you looking messy." Oh. Oh dear. He felt Harry's cool fingers rest against his cheek. Why were his fingers so cold? "Makes you look more approachable. Less…" Harry lowered his voice, smile softening. "Less like the Prince of Slytherin you were when I met you."

"Oh." Of course. Of course! What else could his sweet little Harry possibly mean? "Well. Ahem. That doesn't mean anything, I'm still upset at you!" Harry only laughed, finally letting him go and snatching the little compact from a stunned Pansy's hand before holding it open to him. His hair - while not as perfect as it usually was - no longer looked _as_ awful. "That doesn't change anything, you sacrificed me! You didn't stand up for me! What happened to 'I'll protect you?'"

"Do you honestly think I would have pushed you to go up there if there was any real danger?" Ah. He had almost forgotten that while this was Harry, it was also _Harry Potter_. This was the boy who had brought down the very world to keep those he loved safe. Draco only gave a harumph, arms tightly crossed as he turned his head away. It was still the principle of the thing. Harry had betrayed him! "Alright, alright. Yes, I've utterly betrayed you and everything we stood for. What's it going to cost me to fix it, then?"

"That's not for me to figure out." Hmph. Just- _Hmph_! Honestly, if Harry thought his forgiveness was going to be so easily won-

"Alright." Alright? "I suppose you'd rather not have me around since you're so mad." Harry sighed, turning on his heel and heading back over towards Buckbeak.

"Well- Well good! Fine! That's right, you stay over there, far from me!"

"Oh, well done, darling." Pansy's tone was acidic. "Truly, you've taught him a lesson." Draco pouted at her, a bit defeated.

"What just happened?"

"You lost," Blaise said simply, patting at his back. "Kid's gonna control you when we get older."

"What- No. I- I don't _lose._ I always win!"

"Not when you go up against Harry Potter, you don't." Oh- Oh, the _irony_ of those words. Draco only huffed, continuing to pout. He stayed that way throughout the remainder of the class - which wasn't very long. It was kind of funny to see everyone struggle with their textbooks, Hagrid telling them what pages to read if they wanted to know more before sending them off on their way. Harry, he noticed, always smiled when he caught his gaze before going back to what he was doing, not seeming to realize that Draco was still pouting and Harry should be _paying attention_.

Draco grabbed his things and stormed up the hill, not sparing a look back at any of them. He still needed to go to Arithmancy. Getting into the halls and shuddering as the cool air hit him, Draco didn't get very far before Harry was in front of him and _Merlin_ how was this boy so _fast_ \- "Oh, honestly, Dray." With that, Harry was wrapping him up in a hug, kissing at the skin under his ear and holding him so close. "How much begging am I going to have to be doing, then?"

Draco shivered for an entirely different reason before he wrapped his arms around Harry. "I was hoping for at least a _little_ begging." Harry wasn't supposed to give _him_ the silent treatment.

"Sorry, but that tends to encourage you." Oh, there was no need to sound so amused. "Okay, how about this. If you forgive me, I'll answer any question you want to ask. The stuff I haven't told you about me yet."

"What about you don't I already know?" In lieu of an answer, Harry only shifted a bit closer, arms tightening around him. "Oh... Alright, alright."

"Next time I promise if I push you towards a hippogriff I'll be right behind you," Harry smiled, pulling back and tugging at the chain around Draco's neck. "C'mon, then, ask me a question. I mean, there has to be something you want to know about me that you don't yet."

"...What made you give me a chance? You weren't exactly the most trusting student of the year, when we met. Why me?" Because that was something he had been curious about for a while, now.

"I…" Harry pulled back, looking contemplative as he looked at Draco. "I don't know, really. I mean, when we met you were just another student- I mean, yeah, you were the only one to not treat me like Harry Potter at /first/, but there were others, after that. I... Ah, that was it." Harry looked into his eyes and smiled. "You reminded me of myself."

Draco jerked back a bit, giving Harry a curious frown. "I reminded you of yourself? What's that mean?" For some reason that made Harry _laugh_ , the teen moving to lace their fingers together.

"Well, you were lonely- Dray, you were _so_ lonely. I remember you would always shut people out and you were probably busy planning how to change things, but no one could get through to you. You were lonely, everyone was too scared to talk to you, you were hiding a horrible past, everyone seemed to have these expectations that you just kept shattering, and whenever you saw friends laughing together you looked so _sad_ …" Harry's smile went soft. "You were like me."

Draco could feel his heart shattering as he stared at Harry, the fragments reforming with him at the center. This... _Harry,_ who had gone through so much more than any of them, except perhaps Draco, had. Harry, who so easily could have been another Voldemort, but instead used his pain to fuel his love. "Harry, I-"

"There you are." Oh, bloody hell. "We're going to be _late_ if you don't hurry it up, Draco, and I am _not_ spending a whole extra hour wasting my time because you were being so- So yourselves."

Draco smiled back at Harry. "I'll tell you later."

"I'm counting on it." Harry gave one last grin before letting Draco's hands go. "Right, I'll see you two at lunch- You know, couldn't you just go through the first two classes and then rewind and go through Runes and Arithmancy next?"

Draco paused, thinking it over before looking at Hermione. "He has a point. Then we don't have to wait so long to eat."

"Yes, I was rather thinking the same," Hermione sighed, crossing her arms. "I still can't believe you told him, but it _is_ a good idea. Less trips through time, as well."

"I didn't tell him. He figured it out himself." Draco figured he could afford to look pretty proud of that, too.

"We'll do the full wind backs from now on, but for right now we're going to be late to Arithmancy. You can be boyfriends later, but right first and foremost we are all students!"

" _Hermione,_ " Draco huffed, but didn't say anything else, only dragging her to a secluded corner and winding the time turners back. It was still such a strange feeling. It- It wasn't as all-consuming as the time twister had been, but it was still… It was like going against a current. It was only an hour, so it was rather mild, but each trip had Draco remembering the time twister and how for a second (an eternity?) it felt like it had been tearing him apart. Draco didn't even realize Hermione was calling his name until a hand was placed on his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. "...What?"

"I said we're going to be late." Hermione was frowning, though, gently steering him along. "Are you alright, Draco? You were a little distant the first time we went back, too."

"Right. Right, sorry. Just thinking to myself, a bit. Arithmancy, yes? I've heard it's a bit difficult."

"I haven't heard much about it, honestly," Hermione frowned. "In Ancient Runes Blaise was saying he didn't sign up for it because the subject matter was so complicated. It's often considered a prerequisite to Alchemy, as well."

"Considered, but you can still easily take Alchemy and pass with flying colors," Draco told her as they walked together.

"Did one of your parents take Alchemy, then?" Hermione was tucking her necklace under her robes and out of sight, ruffling around to make sure she had the right book.

"Oh, ah…" Believable not-lie. "Actually, Severus has told me all about it since I was little. He teaches it."

"Oh! That's right, he does." Hermione frowned as if she had just realized something. "Hm. Maybe… Yes, well, what does he have to say about Arithmancy?"

"Oh, well, he always suggested I take it, but warned that it was difficult. That's all, really. He's not an Arithmancer."

"We're going to be in for a very interesting year, then," Hermione sighed, finally digging the right book out. "You heard how your other friends in Slytherin are taking Divination, right? Do you think that will cause any problems about them finding out about us being in two places at once?"

"I don't really know. Between Blaise and Pansy, and Vince, Greg, and Theo, I'm the only common thread. They were never really friends with each other."

"Really? I suppose the way you talk about them I always thought they were all close friends," Hermione said, shaking her head. "That just helps us, then. I think if we do as Harry suggested our time turner days will be easier, though."

"I think so, too." Draco smiled, thinking about everything Harry always did for Draco. And he never asked anything in return, besides perhaps his company. He should do something for him.

"Mm. Death omens in tea cups, daring flights on a Hippogriff, and suspicious friends. It's turning out to be an interesting year already, isn't it?"

"Indeed- Wait." Suspicious friends. "What?"


	8. Skeletons in the Closet

**A/N: In Reply to Nanda (guest review):** **Perdoe meu português. Google Tradutor. É um efeito colateral não intencional do dispositivo. Ele se tornou seu eu de onze anos completamente. A mente de uma criança de onze anos e as memórias de um jovem de dezoito anos se fundiram. Ele sabe que não deve agir assim, mas nem sempre tem controle. Isso faz sentido?**

 **Happy american Thanksgiving, everyone! Every year, we give thanks for having one another, and for being able to do what we love and share it with all of you. We hope you enjoy this chapter, this week, as well. It's sure to be a scream. Is it too late for Halloween jokes? ~Kas**

 **Writing the boggart scene was my favorite scene of this chapter, Lupin is a wonderful teacher, and the chapter title is something I'm still proud of. I'm also being guilted into leaving an author's note. Enjoy the chapter! -Kit**

* * *

When Draco and Hermione caught up with Ron and Harry for lunch, the two were sitting in the group's usual spot, but they looked… Harry was firmly glaring at his plate and Ron was uncomfortably looking between Harry and the rest of their year- No, the rest of their year that was in _Divination_. "Harry?" Draco set a gentle hand on Harry's arm as he sat down. "Everything alright?"

"What? Yeah, fine, of course." Harry's glare changed to a weak grin. "Everyone's just talking about their classes so far." Alright, but that- Ah. Draco heard someone faintly mention the Grim. Draco gave him a smile and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"I've been enjoying most of my classes." It was so amusing to see Harry blush - rather adorable, as well.

"Good- Glad- I'm glad. That's good. So, uh, how was Arithmancy? Percy mentioned something about it being hard when we talked about it last year, I think."

"It is a bit more difficult than I expected," he hummed. "But nothing I won't be able to handle. What did you think of our classes, then?"

"I think I'm going to like Care of Magical Creatures as long as Hagrid doesn't bring anything too dangerous to class. I'd _really_ like to go and visit him later and try to draw some sketches of Buckbeak, if Hagrid doesn't mind it." Hm. Nothing about Divination.

"He probably won't. I'll go with you, if you like. I'm looking forward to learning more in Divination, as well." There was the problem, then. Harry was looking away, poking at his plate of food with a pensive expression. "Can I tell you something? About the other time?"

"Oh- Oh, uh, sure?" That seemed to get Harry to at least look over. "Maybe. Is it something that I'm gonna wanna hear?"

"Every year that she knew him, Trelawney predicted Potter's death," Draco recalled from his conversations with Vince and Greg.

"Is this supposed to be making me feel better? Because it's kind of not."

"Every year she predicted it, every year he never died."

"I… Every year?" Harry seemed to perk up a little, smile back on his face. "Sounds exhausting to have your death predicted every year. Sure that Potter didn't go crazy?"

Draco laughed. "Well, I can't guarantee that." Laughing himself, Harry bumped his shoulder against Draco's.

"Thanks, Dray." Draco hummed and turned his head to simply rest against Harry's hair.

"Anything for you."

"And they say they're not dating," Pansy huffed, sitting beside Hermione with a shake of her head. "Really, can you-"

"Wait, wait, they're not?" Hermione stared with wide eyes, gaze snapping to Draco. "No- You and Harry are dating, aren't you?" Draco remained quiet, only looking to Harry and raising his eyebrows in question. They still hadn't talked.

"Ah, well, uh." Harry looked flustered, clearing his throat and rubbing at the back of his neck. "It's a bit more-"

"He's been sighted, he's been sighted!" Draco wasn't sure what was more startling, the fact Finnigan was screaming or the Daily Prophet slapped down onto the table. "Sirius Black's been spotted!"

Draco glanced down at the paper, quirking just a single eyebrow before looking back up at Finnigan. "And?"

"Dufftown," Hermione frowned. "That's not very far from here. Could he be heading towards the school?"

"I don't see why it much matters," Draco huffed. It wasn't like Sirius Black was a threat - both his memories and Narcissa had confirmed _that_. If he was heading towards Hogwarts then it would be to check on Harry.

"Mate, this is the mad man who murdered twelve people with a single spell!"

"I thought it was thirteen?"

"Like I said, does it much matter?" Draco shot them all a glare. "If it gets to be a problem, we'll worry. But until then, the Dementors are here to protect us from threats. And if you didn't know, _You-Know-Who himself_ was scared of Dumbledore."

"I agree with Draco." Surprising, it was _Lavender Brown_ who agreed with him. "We're safe as long as we're inside Hogwarts - especially with the Dementors guarding the castle. I don't think we have anything to be worried about."

"There? Do you all see, now?" Draco held Harry's hand under the table, smiling sweetly. While there was no more of that foolish panicking, there was now a very fervent discussion going on about Sirius Black and why he would be coming towards Hogwarts - killing Harry being the most popular theory.

"Remind me to thank Sirius Black if I ever see 'im," Harry mumbled. "Just saved my life right there." Draco couldn't help a quiet laugh.

"When I see him, I'll tell him."

"Yeah, ye-" Harry paused, giving Draco an odd look. "When? Does that mean we end up meeting him? You said he was falsely accused, right?"

"Wh- What- I didn't say when. It was rhetorical. Theoretical." Merlin, he had forgotten that Harry paid far too close attention to the things he said when it _came_ to saying the word when.

"Oh. Sorry, just- You seem to know a lot about him? I thought maybe you met him in the past- Er, future?"

"Oh… No, actually. I never met him, in person. But I've asked my mother about him. Because they're cousins. They were fairly close, before he sorted into Gryffindor."

"Your mom seemed to know a lot about them. She told me about the Marauders and all of them." Harry looked up to the High Table, gaze pausing on Lupin. "Do you think Professor Lupin would ever be okay to ask about it? Or would he not want to remember?"

"I think you should ask him, and if he tells you he doesn't want to talk about it, then you leave it at that. But… I would think it'd be better to try for something, than to sit and hope for what could have been," Draco said softly, glancing down at their hands.

"Yeah- Yeah, it's like, you know it's there- You know it is, but a part of you is still too afraid to really _say_ it because what if you're wrong about it all. You know you're not, but _what if_." Harry paused, clearing his throat and flushing. "About, um, the Marauders. And stuff."

"Right. And this is all purely hypothetical."

"Completely hypothetical." Draco smiled and tightened his hold on Harry's hand for just a moment. "Right- Right! Uh, we still have classes to worry about today, you know!"

"Harry, calm down, dear. It's lunch, we can afford to relax."

"Yeah, well." Harry huffed, knocking their shoulders together. "I'm kind of looking forward to Defense later today. Is Professor Lupin a good teacher? Or is it more like… Okay, is he more Lockhart or McGonagall?"

"Besides Sev, he's the best bloody teacher."

"Good- That's good. Maybe we'll actually _learn_ some Defense this year."

"Oh, we do."

::

"Ugh, Potions. Seems like all the fun classes are over," Ron grumbled as they entered the dungeons, a throat clearing behind them making Ron go pale.

"Perhaps instead of having 'fun' in my class you'll instead choose to learn something, Mr. Weasley." Draco couldn't withhold his laugh if he tried, smiling up at Severus.

"How was the rest of your summer?"

"Rather well. I believe I perfected my truth-telling serum and even began something to a similar vein of mind control." Sev's flat voice made for the perfect reaction in Ron near running to the other side of the dungeon, Harry stifling his laugh against Draco's shoulder.

Draco only laughed harder. "I think I got my sense of humor from you, Uncle Sev."

"It is rather darker than Narcissa's, isn't it?" Sev finally gave a smile, looking to Harry. "How was the rest of your summer, then."

"Oh, uh, it-" Harry paused, giving a small smile. "It was perfect."

"Though it is nice to be back at Hogwarts," Draco chimed in. "I think I speak for both of us when I say we missed it."

"I'm not sure if the school missed you two considering how much trouble you bring to it. Hopefully this year you'll be dedicating yourselves to nothing _but_ your studies?"

"We can only try." That said, Draco tugged Harry over to their usual table with a bright smile.

"You're horrible," Harry said, speaking through his laughter. "At least this year is supposed to be our normal year, right?"

"Right. Besides the class schedule," Draco pointed out. "But other than that, it should be normal."

"I think we could do with a normal year." Yeah… Next year was fourth year and the TriWizard Tournament and after that- A normal year was going to be good. "Are you _sure_ you don't remember the third year exam answers?"

" _Yes,_ Harry, I'm sure." Draco glanced up at the board. "Shall we get started, then?"

"Depends." Oh? On what? "I have no idea what half of these ingredients are."

"Oh, come on. I'll help teach you." _Honestly._

The first Potions class of the year wasn't all that interesting, all things considered. It was a normal routine, really. Draco and Harry did great, Hermione was her usual perfectionist self, and Finnigan blew something up. It was like clockwork, truly. When the two began to walk upstairs for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Draco looped his arm into Harry's, giving him a warm smile.

Harry returned it at once, leaning against him for a moment before falling into step with him, "Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Lupin. Anything interesting on the first day that you can remember? If not that's okay. It'll be a surprise."

"I… Not really? It's all a bit fuzzy, really." What _had_ happened the first day in third year? Hm, nothing _important_ he didn't think.

"Should it be?" Harry frowned. "I mean, is it 'oh this was a long time ago' fuzzy or... Is it _fuzzy_?"

"Is there much of a difference? It was seven years ago."

"Yeah, but I mean- Could-" Harry sighed, glancing to the side. It took _Draco_ a moment to notice the teen was making sure no one was close enough to hear. "Could traveling back in time have done something to your memories?"

"I… don't know." Draco frowned, and tried to remember back to his Slytherin sorting. It was hard, he just kept hearing 'Gryffindor,' but… But. He could remember it. The loud call of Slytherin. It was like the memory was shrouded in fog. _Had_ the time twister affected his memories? It was possible, but… He still remembered what came after. He remembered what the next few years would bring.

"It's probably nothing to worry about." Harry shifted to hold his hand, giving him a smile. "We'll be fine, yeah?"

"Right… Right. Yes. We'll be fine, Harry. I meant what I said. Lupin was the best bloody teacher."

"High praise, coming from you," Harry laughed. "I'm looking forward to learning from him, then. I wonder what he'll teach us first- Hey, do you think we're going to learn about magical beasts?" Oh, dear. "I mean, Hagrid is gonna teach us a lot of that, but there's dark creatures in Defense- What about hexes? Is this class about learning jinxes and stuff or is it just about learning to defend from it? Shouldn't we know both? I feel we should know both."

"An opinion I rather agree with." Ah, they were at the classroom already.

Draco smiled back at Harry. "In short? Yes. To everything."

"Ri- Right." Harry cleared his throat, looking embarrassed as Lupin gave a quiet laugh. "So, uh, I'm just gonna go. Sit."

Draco released his arm from Harry's to continue staring up at Lupin. "Draco Malfoy, sir."

"Ah, yes, we met briefly on the train." Lupin shook his hand with a smile, looking… Huh. He didn't look at all suspicious of having a _Malfoy_ in his class. "I do hope you both are doing better. I would have thought they knew better than to let those creatures near the students."

"Yes, sir, much better, thank you. And I completely agree. Ghastly things, I believe." There was a snort from Ron and a mutter of the Prefect Weasley's name, Hermione rolling her eyes. Draco stuck his leg out as Ron walked by.

If Lupin saw the action he didn't say anything, merely heading up to his desk and looking through a set of papers and oh, thank Merlin. A Defense teacher with a lesson plan. "Oi! Don't trip me!"

"Oh no! Were you tripped? Did someone trip you? You poor thing." Pleased as that got a cackle out of _Hermione_ , Draco went over to sit by Harry, who was looking around the classroom.

"Much nicer without all the pictures of Lockhart and the pixies running about."

"Oh, yes, completely," Draco said with a smile, leaning against Harry. The teen leaned back, sighing softly.

"Should we try this talk again, then, or wait until we're in the dorms tonight?"

"Wait until we're not in class."

"Probably for the best-"

"Attention, class." As Lupin called for the class' attention, Harry gave Draco a _look_. "Books away and wands out, please, today will be a practical lesson." Draco frowned. This wasn't very familiar - at least, not on the first day. The class was breaking out into murmurs at once - for good reason. Their last 'practical' lesson had ended with a bunch of pixies being set loose on them. Ron was clutching at his wand rather defensively, too. Lupin only laughed at their looks. "No worries, nothing too difficult. Come on, stand up, then. I've got Professor Snape bringing in the, ah, _content_ for the class."

"Oh, well, he seems to get along with Severus alright." Harry stood up and nudged at Draco. "Hopefully it's not more pixies?" Ah, good, Draco wasn't the only one remembering that.

"I'm fairly certain it won't be pixies." Draco stood and watched with wide eyes as Lupin flicked his wand and sent the tables and chairs to the far sides of the room. What did they need this much space for?

"It's bound to be interesting," Hermione said, moving to stand beside them, Ron still clutching his wand a bit too tightly. "A practical lesson… Do you think we'll be pairing up and practicing dueling spells, maybe?"

"May… be? I don't know," he said with general confusion. Lupin cleared the classroom up a bit more before there was a single knock on the door and it was opening, Sev walking in and carrying a hovering wardrobe behind him.

"You're lucky I got to it before Minerva did. Finally tracked it down to the staff room."

"Ah, yes, thank you, Severus. Would you like to stay? An extra hand could be helpful, just in case anything goes awry."

"I suppose since I'm finished with classes for the day." Sev made a show of being greatly put out, Harry trying to stifle a laugh beside Draco. "Gryffindors, hm?"

"Yes, I thought it to be a wonderful first exercise for the house." Oh. He… did different things for each house?

"For most of them." Ah, Sev was looking over at him and Harry. Oh, Lupin was looking at them too. Well, then. This could be interesting. "Very well, let's get started then, shall we?"

"Yes, let's! If you could set the wardrobe facing the class at the front, I would be grateful. Now, everyone! I'd like you all to line up. Any order, it doesn't matter." Everyone was curious enough to form a rough line, Harry settling into line behind Draco and watching curiously as Sev flipped the wardrobe around to face them. As soon as he set it down, it gave a great jerk and rattle, the people in the front quickly skittering back. "Let me see," Lupin said, looking down at his clipboard. "Parvati Patil! Name a creature that is often found in dark spaces!"

"Oh, um-" Patil looked around at her friends, finally giving a small shake of her head. "I don't know… Vampires, I suppose, because of the light?"

"Vampires, yes, that is a very good guess, Parvati. Dean Thomas?"

"Rats." Oh for- This was a _magic_ class. "Really big and nasty rats."

"Rats. That is a very sound guess, Dean, rats." Lupin seemed to look over the list again. "Harry Potter?" He gave away no sign that Harry was any different from any other student.

"Er." Harry looked to the wardrobe which gave a very nasty shake. "Lot of things could be found in dark spaces, I guess. I mean, the right answer - or the one you're looking for - is whatever is gonna be in there. Uh, sir?"

"Ah, I'm looking for many answers. Go ahead, give it your best guess." Silent for a long moment as he stared at the wardrobe, Harry finally looked back to Lupin.

"Something magical that likes to hide in the dark?"

"Are you asking me what it is?"

"Yes- No? Ah." Harry looked to Draco for help.

"Just say the first thing you think of," Draco whispered.

"Spiders?"

"While that is a good guess, as spiders do prefer the dark, that is not what is contained within," he said as he rapped on the wardrobe. "This wardrobe. Any other guesses? Anyone, anyone! Please! There is no such thing as a wrong answer, in this class!" Hermione looked between Lupin and the wardrobe before nodding and promptly raising her hand. "Ah, yes. What is your name, young lady?"

"Hermione Granger, sir, and I believe what's inside to be a boggart." Ooh, that would explain Lupin's line of questioning. Hm. This was a good way to get the Gryffindors interested, that was for sure.

"Yes! Now, who besides Hermione here can tell us what a boggart is?" It was the ones who grew up in wizard families that raised their hands, some looking more uncertain than others. "Ah, yes! You in the back, there!"

"It's something that makes you afraid, innit?"

"Yes, in a way. The boggart is a creature that will take the form of your worst fear. You see, it feeds upon your misery, so yes, it does make you afraid."

"So _that's_ why he was asking us all those questions," Harry mumbled, looking at the wardrobe again. "So it takes on what we're most afraid of. How do you fight your worst fear?"

"Now, I'm sure many of you are wondering how to combat such a _fearsome_ foe!" Draco nearly laughed when he heard Severus sigh heavily. Harry _did_ laugh."Simple, really. You think of the silliest possible thing that could happen."

"Uh, Professor? Do you mean imagine the silliest thing that could happen to the _fear_? How- How does that help get rid of it?"

"Ah, yes. You turn that fantasy into a reality. For example, let us say that Professor Snape was our greatest fear!" The dirty look Sev gave Lupin had Draco stifling a laugh into his fist, Harry not able to hide it as well. "Ah, see, Severus? They're laughing already!" It seemed as if most of the class was too scared of Sev and his glare to laugh beside Draco, Harry, and Hermione - although Ron and a few others did give a nervous chuckle. "Now, you all know our drab professor here. Imagine, if you will, our Professor Severus in a bright pink ladies' dressing gown, and a full face of makeup!"

The reactions were too much to contain and the class was breaking out into laughter and giggles, Draco pleased to see Sev only sighed tiredly and even looked to be fighting against a hint of a smile. "Were this a true boggart, one need only wave their wand, like so, and say ' _Riddikulus!_ ' Now, with me. _Riddikulus!_ "

" _Riddikulus._ " The class parroted, a few of them still giggling through the word.

"Yes, yes, very good. That is exactly what you will do to that boggart once I release him. One at a time, of course, hence the line. Those who believe themselves unwilling or incapable of facing the boggart, we will not look down upon you, you need only stand against the far wall."

"I like him," Harry said softly. It seemed a few others did too, as they didn't look ashamed or embarrassed as they moved to lean against the far wall - not too many, though. Draco couldn't be very surprised considering what house this was.

"This is a very Gryffindor lesson," Draco hummed to him. "Face your worst fear, on the first day."

"Yes," Lupin said, suddenly beside Draco. "Why, after this, anything else in the class should be nothing."

"It _is_ a very Gryffindor lesson," Harry grinned, Draco only trying to get his heart under control because _Merlin_. "Professor, did you make different lessons for different _houses_?" Oh, good, Harry suspected that too.

"Why yes, Harry, I did. How astute an observation." Smiling, Draco watched Harry as he just blinked and gave a slow nod.

"Right. Uh, thank… Thank you?"

"Alright, are we all ready, then? Wands out, I want you to practice it one more time, even those of you deciding to forego the lesson. Just a simple flick, ' _Riddikulus._ '" This time, the class flicked their wands as they repeated the spell, Draco standing in line with the others and, hm. What… What _would_ his worst fear be? A dead Harry, perhaps, or… Or _him_. Draco wasn't sure what he would do, if he came out. He tried to think of him as more ridiculous, and laughable, but nothing came to mind.

"So we're supposed to imagine our worst fears as something funny," Hermione repeated, looking serious about the matter. Next to her, Ron was muttering about 'taking its legs off'.

"Ye- Yes," Draco said quietly before looking to Harry. "I… I think I have to step out." Harry looked startled before giving a small smile and nodding, hugging Draco quickly.

"That's fine. I'll stick it out, though. I'm- I'm not sure what I'm _most_ afraid of, really."

Draco smiled at him. "Are you sure you'll do fine on your own?"

"I think so. Whatever it is, it can't be too bad, and if it is I know I'll be safe here."

With a nod, and a kiss to Harry's cheek, Draco stepped out of the line, and walked over to lean against the far wall. He noticed a few of their classmates looked startled, although Sev seemed most surprised. Draco couldn't blame him, it wasn't often he let himself back down from anything. With something like this, with Draco especially, there was far too much risk with far too little reward. He… He couldn't face him. Not now.

"Everyone prepared, then?" Lupin gave them all a warm smile, clapping his hands before pointing his wand towards the wardrobe. "Remember you can leave the line any time or have either myself or Professor Snape step in to help." When Harry glanced back, he gave a warm reassuring smile before nodding towards the wardrobe. "Then let's begin!"

The door opened and Patil was the first one to step forward, face paling as a shambling mummy pulled itself out of the wardrobe. Draco bit his tongue against a laugh. Amazing. Harry probably had a fear of death, Draco feared the future, and she feared a mummy. It was just- He forgot that so many of them were just _children_. "Ri- _Riddikulus!_ " The mummy tripped on some of it's wrapping and hit the floor face first. That had Draco giving a laugh, as well as a few others as Patil herself gave a quiet giggle, walking over to stand beside them on the wall.

From there it seemed to go even more smoothly, people facing their fears and getting things like bugs, a severed hand, Ron and his fear of spiders, and other basic things. He was glad there was nothing _too_ scary they feared. As they watched the spider roll around without legs, Harry laughed as he stepped up next. Draco watched Severus and Lupin exchange a look as the spider seemed to stop, and stare up at Harry, unblinking as though trying to decide what to turn in to. And then, it wasn't a spider, anymore.

"I thought I bloody well warned you about what I thought of all this funny business, boy!" Oh… Oh, no… There in front of a stunned and speechless Harry was Vernon Dursley. Draco couldn't exactly say he was _surprised,_ but it certainly seemed that Harry was. "You are going to leave, get into the car this _instant,_ and you're going to be locked up in your cupboard until you _forget_ all of this _nonsense!_ "

"Ye- Ye-" Harry couldn't even get the word out, entire body shaking and wand limp in his hand. His breathing was already rapidly picking up and no- No, it was supposed to be Voldemort or the Dementors or _something_ other than _Vernon bloody Dursley_. Lupin quickly stepped in front of Harry, and the boggart seemed to lose its focus, transforming into a figure that had Draco's breath hitching as he pressed himself against the wall. That- Fen- What was _Fenrir_ doing as Lupin's worst fear?! Werewolf- Lupin was a bloody werewolf. He had to have been turned by _someone._

" _Riddikulus,_ " Lupin said softly, the beast turning into nothing more than a common domestic dog. Harry was still shaking, eyes wide as he stared at where Dursley had been. Lupin nudged Harry over towards Draco and Draco quickly walked over to guide Harry out of the room completely, the lesson continuing on again. The voices faded as they walked, Draco not sure what to say before Harry was giving a bitter laugh.

"Guess he scared me more than I thought, huh? Sorry about that, wasn't really expecting to see him pop up."

"Harry," Draco said softly. "You really think you should apologize? At least you tried to face him. I didn't even _try_ to face my fear."

"Yeah, but I didn't _know_ what my fear was going to be- I didn't- I should be stronger than- Than _him_!"

"You had to live under him for _ten years,_ love. No one can expect you to be magically healed, after that. Magic can only do so much."

"Guess so, huh?" Harry sighed, rubbing at his eyes and near shoving his glasses off his face. "Professor Lupin and Sev are gonna probably tell McGonagall, aren't they? I mean…"

"Well… She is your head of house. When I was in Slytherin, Sev always offered us help or advice for _any_ problem." A moment passed before Draco stumbled in his steps, Harry pressed up against him and hiding his face against the robes- Ah. He was shaking.

"'S alright, isn't it? It's- It's alright to be scared of him, isn't it?"

"Yes, Harry," Draco said, running a hand through his hair. "It's alright. You don't even need to ask. I mean, Patil was scared of a mummy. Do you think she asked if it's okay to be scared of mummies?"

"Dunno." Harry burrowed closer for a second, taking in a shaky breath. "Just- Just give me today to be afraid, okay? I'll be better tomorrow."

"Harry, you be afraid as much as you need to. How about the two of us go up to the dorm to relax a bit, yeah? That sound good?"

"No- You have Muggle Studies right after Defense." Draco sighed.

"I nearly forgot. We can go ahead up to the dorms, and I'll turn back once Defense lets out."

"Fine- Yeah. As long as you're not late then yeah, staying in the dorms for a while sounds great." Harry tugged at Draco's robes, staring at his chest. "Hey, Dray… 'S alright if I draw you for a while?"

"Sure," Draco said with a smile. "Maybe ask me after Muggle Studies? Then you'll have me for longer."

"Mm, well, _technically_ from my perspective you'll only be gone for ten or twenty minutes until you get back to the room, so really it doesn't matter much either way, does it?"

"But won't it be hard to get me back into the same position as when I left?"

"You have a point," Harry pouted. "Fine. No drawing until after Muggle Studies." Draco held Harry's hand tightly as he led him up to the dorms. "Hey, Dray." Humming and looking back, Draco saw that Harry had a faint blush on his cheek as he looked at the floor. "I think- We- Well, um. We should talk."

"Oh. Oh, ah, well. I suppose we most likely should." The two were quiet until they got into the dorms, Harry clearing his throat and heading for his bed.

"Right- Right. Talking. Um, why don't you start?"

"Oh- What? Me? Really?" Draco winced at how high his voice was before he cleared it and glanced away. "Do… you think there's anything to talk about?"

"I guess that depends on whether _you_ think there's anything to talk about." Oh, jeez. They were going to go around like this all night, weren't they? "I- I haven't exactly been subtle about things."

"I could- Oh, dammit all, Harry, I've never been good at this sort of thing."

"You, at least, have a bit more experience in all of it." Yeah, 'experience.' "I just- I don't want things to _change,_ but I _do_. Does that make sense?"

"Not… Not really," Draco sighed. "And whatever experience you think I have is greatly exaggerated."

Harry sighed himself, shoving a hand through his hair and tangling the curls back to how they had been that morning. "Like- It's- You're making this very difficult, Dray."

"Well? Can I be blamed? Harry, you're _thirteen._ " Which was one of the main whole problems of _all_ of this! Draco may have been _physically_ thirteen, but mentally… Fuck, how old even was he now?

"Yeah, thanks, I remember that much, and I know you're technically older, but you- You never act like it. You haven't treated me like I'm younger than you in a _long_ time, Dray." That had Draco drawing back.

"What? Of- Of course I have. You've been asking so many questions about what happens-"

"No, that's not- I mean you actually trust me and tell me things. You don't act like the adults who shove me away in a corner and say 'it's for your own good you'll understand one day'. You- You treat me like an _equal_."

"Well… Of course not, Harry. You deserve better than that. You always have," Draco told him, cupping his cheek gently. Harry leaned into the touch at once, sighing softly.

"Is- Is it really just because I'm thirteen and you haven't even _thought_ to look at me like that, or is it… Is it because I'm _me_?"

Draco frowned, his brow furrowing. "Because you're you? What do you mean?"

"I mean-" Harry waved his hand about, looking to be trying to find the words and getting frustrated when he couldn't. "Do you- Do you just- _Ugh_! Is it because I'm young or you just don't feel that way about me!" Draco sighed, sitting down and tugging Harry beside him.

"It's a lot of things, but it's not because of you. I don't want to rush anything because you're still figuring out who you are. I also don't want you to think you're some Potter substitute. And... And I _really_ don't know what I'm doing, Harry."

"This all seemed a lot easier in my head," Harry sighed, falling backwards to lay on his back, the teen staring up at the canopy. "But… The way you said all that, it- It makes you sound like you _do_ want something. Eventually."

"Well… Yes. I rather thought that much was obvious." Glancing back, he saw Harry wasn't looking at him, but had on a stupidly big smile.

"Nothing's ever obvious with you, Dray. So- So, right. Maybe not _now_ , but... Eventually. I can- I think I can be good with eventually."

"Well," Draco said softly, laying down beside Harry and holding his hand. "I could be swayed."

"Oh?" Harry rolled over onto his side to face him, smiling at him and returning the hold just as tight. "What would sway you?" A mischievous grin beginning to form, Draco only gave Harry a shrug, looking away. "Dray- Hey, you can't just- Dray!" Harry was laughing even as he tugged at his robes, squirming closer. "Come on, Dray, now you _have_ to tell me."

"Well, I didn't have anything _specific_ in mind," Draco laughed as well.

"Draaay." Harry whined long and loud, giggles bubbling out through the word as he moved to 'collapse' on top of him.

"I thought, how clever you can be, you would come up with something easily!"

"You're so mean." Harry settled down on top of him, the two slowly relaxing before Harry gave a soft breath. "I think… I think I might love you more than just a friend."

Draco only gave him a nod, smiling warmly. "I know." Harry hide his face, huffing and grumbling.

"Don't just say 'I know' to that. I mean- Something's changed between us now, right? It feels like it has, but it also feels like nothing has changed if that makes any sense."

"...You know, I mostly just wanted to figure out what we were going to tell everyone that asks if we're together."

"Oh." Hiding a smile, Draco gently tousled Harry's hair. "We could keep being vague? Just let them guess? I mean, no matter what we say they're going to think we're, uh, together."

"Do you… not want them to think that?"

"I mean- I don't- I don't want them to think that if it's not true, I guess." Draco didn't know what to say. He really didn't want to push Harry, but… he did want this. "What do you want right now?"

"I… Well, I- I should probably get to Muggle Studies." Sitting up to where he was sitting on _top_ of Draco, Harry stared at him before giving a weak smile.

"Guess it really is our normal year, huh? Relationship troubles included."

"Normal? I think it's the new mystery of the year," Draco huffed, nudging at Harry. "Budge up."

"So- So just to be clear, all of this- It- It wasn't a _no_ , right?"

"I-" Draco sighed, though he did look up fondly. "It wasn't a no."

"Right- Right! Class. You should get to class." Harry finally moved, pushing Draco up and off the bed and still avoiding looking at him. "I'll just- I'll just do homework. Or something."

"Right. For the next ten or twenty seconds." Draco ruffled his hair. "I'll be right back."

Laughing, Harry grabbed Draco's hand, watching him for a moment before leaning forward and hesitantly kissing at the back of it. "See you soon, Dray." Where his other hand was already on the Time Turner, Draco had no way to hide his blush as he looked away. "Come back safe."

Draco nodded. "I will." With that, he gave the Time Turner a single turn.


	9. Traces of Magic

**A/N: Happy New Year! Let's kick this year off right and get you all some new chapters, drabbles, AU, the whole kit and kaboodle! If you're interested, hop over to either of our accounts, Kasena, or Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter, where we both have our own drabbles we've worked on, some of which relate directly to this AU! And you can find us on Pillowfort, or Tumblr! Have a good one! ~Kas**

* * *

Right. Muggle Studies. No problem. Easy enough. Or, at least, it would be easy enough if his mind wasn't completely caught on his conversation with Harry and everything it meant. Draco waited patiently outside the classroom, glancing over as Hermione joined him.

"Is Harry alright? You two didn't come back and I was worried it was even worse than I thought."

"He's… He's better. I took him up to the dorm to calm down, and we started to… talk."

"Talk?" Hermione frowned, pausing from where she was getting her book out. "What about?"

"About… Well. About quite a few things," he said softly, looking down at the ground. There was a moment of silent, Hermione's hand gently touching his arm.

"Good things, I hope."

"Ah… Here and there." Draco gave her a bit of a weak smile. "I'm afraid that I may have let his hope down."

"What do you mean?" Hermione frowned before her eyes widened. "Was this talk about, well, you know… _You two_."

"It… Yes," Draco sighed. "It was. And… I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean? I mean, from my point of view it's pretty obvious you both have feelings for each other like- Well, like _that_."

"It- Hermione, that might be true, but it is much more complicated than that. And what do you mean obvious?"

"Draco, you two are always kissing each other on the cheek and- Yes, alright, I suppose that could be considered close friends, but the way you two look at each other… That's not 'just friends'."

"I know. I _had_ wanted to talk to him about maybe putting a label to it, but… He just doubts himself so much." It seemed Harry automatically wanted to do whatever _Draco_ wanted to do - one of the reasons Draco was so hesitant about starting anything to begin with.

"After all he's been through? I can't blame him. Maybe you both just need time to grow, then?"

Draco snorted at that. "I do not. Harry, however… I've just been imitating whatever he initiates. I don't want him to be uncomfortable."

"That's sweet, but make sure to keep in mind what you can and can't handle, too." Oh, no, that was the last thing on his mind in all of this. "If it helps, I think you two are good together."

"It… does help, thank you." Draco paused as the door opened and students began to amble out. "Shall we, then?"

"We shall. Right, eighth class of the day, then." When she said it like that it all sounded rather exhausting. "I'm glad that it's only going to be Mondays that are _this_ bad."

"You're right, every other day is only six or seven classes."

"We've made a horrible choice, I feel."

"It's… for the greater good?"

"Yes, yes." Hermione went straight up to the front desk, looking just a touch frazzled. "Don't distract me. I need to think about how I'm going to do all my homework tonight." Oh, dear.

"...Actually," Draco said, clearing his throat. "I think this class may give me some trouble. Do you think, possibly…" Instead of answering, Hermione only raised an eyebrow and, damn. She was gonna make him actually ask, wasn't she? "I… need your help."

"I suppose if you really need help," Hermione sighed - rather dramatically - before giving a sly grin. "See? Admitting it wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Actually, it was," Draco huffed, crossing his arms and looking away from her. "Most dreadful thing I've ever done."

"Wait until you have to explain to Pansy that you and Harry aren't dating because you think you aren't ready." Oh… Oh, bloody hell, if he gave that reason Pansy would kill him. Draco sighed.

"I made it all go wrong, didn't I?"

"No- No, Draco, you didn't-"

"Alright, class! I hope you all have had an exciting first day so far. I'll be teaching you for the semester and for those who don't already know me my name is Professor Charity Burbage." And just like that, Draco wasn't sitting in Muggle Studies class. He was instead at a table of murderers as they all _laughed-_ "Draco?" Oh, god, what had he done. "Draco Malfoy, that is you, yes?"

"Ye- Yes, ma'am," he said softly, looking firmly away. He wasn't sure what kind of look she gave him - if any - but Draco didn't turn around to find out. He only kept his gaze firmly on his books and refused to look up. Maybe that would be enough to get him through this class. Merlin, how had he forgotten? They had killed her for teaching Muggle Studies positively. That was her only crime, and for that she'd received torture and death.

Not this time, though. Draco had years before that time came and he was going to do everything he could to stop it. He couldn't do much this year, but next year when Voldemort was supposed to rise… He'd fix this. He'd keep everyone - _Harry_ \- safe. For now, it would be best for him to keep his head down and stay quiet.

Draco stayed silent for the rest of the class, avoiding looking at Burbage as much as he could. As soon as class was over he was one of the first ones out the door and oh no. He would not be sitting in the front next time he stepped in that class. Maybe a nice little corner far in the back. That sounded nice. Draco didn't even stop when Hermione tried to speak with him, only hurrying up to the dorms where Harry was waiting for him. He… He should get started on homework. Yes, yes that sounded nice and safe and simple.

It was far too easy to slip past everyone, no one having seen him for the last half hour having helped since he and Harry left Defense early. A quick dash up the stairs and he was hiding in the dorm, startling at the spike of magic- Ah. He had just left- Or, his past self had. Looking over showed Harry was on the bed, hand half outstretched and a expression between sad and fond on his face. Though he knew it probably wasn't right, Draco looked away from Harry quickly and settled down on the floor next to his bed, getting out his homework and starting on it immediately.

"You were right about ten seconds, then," Harry laughed, the sound doing wonders to soothe Draco. "How was Muggle Studies?"

"It was fine," he said quietly, spreading his papers out around him carefully. Harry didn't ask any more questions which… That wasn't right. Harry was... Harry was now sitting a few feet across from him on the floor and sketching. Draco frowned as he could only stare a him, head tilting slightly. "Harry?"

"Yeah?" Harry looked up, tilting his head the opposite way.

"Are you alright?" Draco's frown deepened as he leaned forward.

"I think I should be asking you that question." Harry gave a smile, scooting a bit closer. "That bad a class?" Draco sighed, and when Harry sat beside him, he leaned his head on the teen's shoulder.

"It just brought back a bad memory." Shifting against him, Harry rested his head on top of Draco's, a quiet hum leaving him.

"That's okay. That's why you're here, right? To make those bad memories into good ones- Well, I know it's a bit more complicated than that, but I swear that sounded better and more reassuring in my head."

"No, love, it sounded perfectly fine." Draco hummed quietly, holding Harry's hand.

"Good- Good." Harry held Draco's hand back, pausing. "Dray, I can't draw left handed."

"Oh. Well then this should be good practice." Really. Harry whining and sounding so childish was more reassuring than anything else he could have said in that moment. It reminded him that it wasn't too late. That he could still just be 'Harry' instead of Harry Potter. It… It was good like this. "I love you, too."

There was a long silence, Draco starting to feel a bit nervous before he felt Harry move and then lips pressed against his cheek. "I know." Draco smiled, even as he looked away and focused on his work. There was a moment before Harry was standing up and moving to sit on his other side, holding his hand and settling his sketchbook. "You _did_ promise to let me draw you."

"Well, now _I_ can't work on my homework. I'm not left-handed, either."

"Oh," Harry smirked. "Well then this should be good practice." Draco huffed out a laugh, still leaning against Harry.

"You, dear, are something else entirely."

"Shut up and do your homework," Harry laughed, settling against him and squeezing his hand tightly. "You're okay."

"So are you." Draco squeezed his hand back. "He can't get you, here."

"Thanks, Dray."

"Anytime."

::

"Harry. Have you noticed anything strange about Hermione?"

"Er, depends on if I was supposed to or not."

"It feels like she's been staring at us a lot. Me more than you."

"Staring?" Harry frowned, looking over to where Hermione was acting as if she _wasn't_ staring. She definitely was staring, though. "I… Maybe, actually. She's been asking me weird questions, too. Like, how we met, what we do over our summers, stuff like that."

Draco frowned and leaned closer to Harry. "Do you think she knows?" It took a moment, but when it clicked Harry narrowed his eyes, giving a small shake of his head.

"No… No, but she might suspect."

"That's still no good." Draco crossed his arms. "I don't like it. If she can figure it out, who else can."

"Hermione's not exactly the average student," Harry said quietly. "You and her are the only ones to be approved for something like time turners, and you have years more knowledge. I'd be surprised if she _didn't_ figure out something was weird about you."

"Well… Just be careful around her, alright?"

"What's she gonna do, hex me?" Harry raised his hands peacefully. "Sorry, okay, I'll be careful." Draco couldn't help a smile as he shifted against Harry and finally lifted up Harry's arm to wrap around himself. "You know, you could have just said you wanted a hug," Harry teased, wrapping both arms around Draco and near overbalancing them both as rested his forehead against Draco's cheek.

"I could have, but this is more fun," Draco said softly, leaning his head against Harry's. The teen gave a quiet hum, relaxing against Draco before speaking quietly.

"Sev wanted to talk to me after Potions today." Oh? Probably about the boggart- Harry didn't stay behind in Potions. "I might've forgotten to tell you and I also might've forgotten to mention that's why I was rushing us out of the classroom so quickly."

" _Harry,_ " Draco sighed, shaking his head. "Let's go talk to Sev."

"Okay, but, um, weren't we doing homework? Let's go back to that. Homework sounds great right now." Draco only rose an eyebrow at Harry, standing and holding a hand out. "Oh, fine." Harry took his hand, looking like he was being offered up to Dementors. With a smile, Draco tugged him up.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Harry." The look very much begged to differ, but Harry didn't fight against the tug towards the portrait hole.

"What would he even want to talk about? He already knows everything that happened there."

"Oh. Did he say that's what he wanted to talk about?"

"Not really. He said he wanted to 'discuss my progress' and that's usually a bad sign for me when teachers say that, so, you know. Running. That's why the running."

Draco chuckled, shaking his head as he led Harry through the halls. "He very well could have meant in Potions. We all know that it's not your best subject."

"Hey, at least I don't blow things up like Seamus does." Harry laced his fingers with Draco's, swinging their hands back and forth as they walked. It… It was kind of incredible when Draco thought about it. Him and Harry Potter walked through the halls and holding hands. "I'm in the top fifteen in our class, at least."

"...Harry, dear, I'd say top thirty." They could hold hands and walk beside each other and no one would even bat an eye, it was such a normal, average occurrence.

"Hey!" Harry was laughing too hard to even pout and it was just- He had already changed so much for the better. "Alright, so, we say hi to Sev, you distract him with potion talk, and then I run away. Sound good?"

"It sounds very plausible if I hadn't heard it ahead of time."

"You have to admit, he has gotten a knack for thinking on his feet."

"I'm quite aware." Sev was almost smiling. He must have been in a good mood. "The habit has gotten worse after spending time with you, however." Mm, maybe a bit. Oh, how cute, Harry was trying to hide behind him.

"I would say better. You wanted to speak with him?"

"Yes, I did. While your potions grade could use discussion, I mainly wanted to ask if you were alright or if you wanted to perhaps contact Mrs. Malfoy." As Sev spoke, Harry relaxed a great deal, finally giving a shake of his head.

"I'll be okay, Professor. It just… It caught me off guard, was all."

"We already talked about it a bit, Uncle Sev. I think I helped Harry with most of it."

"I really am alright." Sev didn't look like he believed it, but Harry's bright smile seemed to reassure him.

"Very well. If you need to talk to anyone, however, myself, Professor Lupin, and Professor McGonagall are willing to listen. I'm sure Draco's mother is, as well." Draco only hummed softly, leaning against Harry. All things that Draco had told Harry.

"I understand, Professor. Thank you," Harry nodded, grinning at Draco and pressing back against him. "Um, do we really need to talk about my potions grade? Because I'm pretty sure I'm around and A right now."

"Yes, that _is_ indeed a problem," Sev said seriously, nodding.

"Wha- A is passing! I'm passing!"

"Barely."

"Yes, but see, Professor, it's _passing_. As long as I'm passing I don't see why I should be worried."

"Actually, Harry," Draco chimed in. "In Uncle Sev's classes, you want to aim for O's. If you want the upper level classes, you can't take them without O-levels."

"Oh- Wait, is it A, E, O, or is it A, O, E?" Oh, dear.

"A, E, O. Acceptable, Exceeds Expectations, and Outstanding."

"You want me to be doing top level work?! I can barely finish my essays without stea- Ah, borrowing- Studying! Without _studying_ Hermione's and yours notes." Harry cleared his throat, avoiding looking at Sev.

"Well, of course," Draco said with a smile. "Don't worry. Hermione and I will be able to help. And maybe… Uncle Sev might volunteer his services? He's always willing to help a student that's eager."

"As long as the student is willing to put forth the effort," Sev agreed, giving a nod of his head. "My advice is to learn and study with your friends. If after that there's still trouble then I can set aside some time each week to help you through whatever you're confused over."

"Oh." Harry stared, looking... He looked confused. "I… Okay- Yes. That- Okay."

"Come on," Draco said, tugging him towards the door. "You were _so_ wanting to make sure we did our homework, when we left."

"Wha- I- _Dray_." Aw, Harry looked so adorable when he looked betrayed. "What did I ever do to you!"

"Come on," he repeated.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming- Thanks for caring, Professor Snape!" Harry called, grabbing Draco's hand and spinning him around the corner so they were facing each other. "You know, I was promised some midnight Seeker's Games."

"You know, you're right. But once I go to sleep, I won't wake up. How about Friday night? Then we won't have to worry about getting up early."

"Friday night sounds good." Harry paused, looking as if he realized something before he glanced away. "So, um, I never asked, and just to be sure, you don't- You don't mind me sleeping in your bed, do you?"

Draco smiled at Harry. "No, Harry. I don't. Nothing's really changed between us, has it?"

"Right- Right." Harry grinned, kissing at Draco's cheek. "By the way, Wood said that tryouts are this Saturday."

"Oh. Alright. Do you want me to come watch, then? I… I don't know if I'll try out for reserves, again."

"Really?" Harry paused, still holding his hand and frowning after a moment. "Are you gonna wanna skip the team this year or do you maybe wanna try out for something else? There _are_ other positions on the team."

"I don't know. I've never played anything else."

"Well, maybe now's your opportunity to try, yeah?"

"Harry, I don't know _how_ to play anything else."

"Yeah, but you can fly a broom pretty well. That's better than most of the people who turn up for tryouts. Besides, the girls can run you through all the plays if you wanna be Chaser, Wood would love to have a Keeper ready to go for next year, and you learning under the twins- Actually, no, that last one sounds like a bad idea. Don't be a beater."

"No," he said with a sharp shake of the head. "I certainly wasn't planning on it. Though I wouldn't be opposed to a chaser… I'd need a bit thicker build for a keeper."

"I think you'd be a good keeper, but chaser… That suits you better." Harry tugged on his hand, kissing at his cheek. "You should try out. You know all our plays, after all."

"I don't know… I could use some convincing."

"Oh?" Oh. Yes, okay, oh, Harry was suddenly a lot closer and had his hands tangled in Draco's robes and he was _very_ close. "Dunno what I could say to convince you. You're kinda stubborn."

"I… I, uh…" What? Really, what? Draco lost all higher thought processes. This was- Ooh, boy, this was very much not expected and he was a hundred percent certain Harry didn't even know what he was doing.

"I'm probably going to make a _horrible_ decision here," Harry huffed, falling forward to brace his forehead against Draco's. "Letting the Slytherin choose, and all, but is there anything I _could_ do to convince you? I like you playing Quidditch with me. Wouldn't feel right without you there."

"I will," Draco said quickly, agreeing to, really, anything Harry wanted of him.

"Really?" Harry beamed, wrapping his arms around Draco's shoulders. "That's great! Now we _definitely_ need to go out and play Friday night- Hey, maybe we can drag Ron out. Hermione too, maybe- Just like first year! We can have you try out some keeper and chaser positions."

"Right. Who's going to be beater? Hermione?"

"Mm, I don't think she'd be willing to go that high up. Either the twins or Dean and Seamus, I think."

"Just get all the Gryffindors out of bed and out of the castle then to play Quidditch?"

"You have a point." Harry huffed, pouting as he fell forward and shifted so his head was braced against his shoulder and aah, okay, breathing on his neck, that was weird- That was strange. "Maybe we should have a day game and then you and me can practice more at night. Just us." Aha, the way Harry was, it was almost like he was about to-

"Okay. Right. Sounds good." Suddenly Harry was letting him go and Draco could _breathe_ and alright, he was being pulled along down the halls now.

"Great! C'mon, let's go see if the others want to play- They probably will. I mean. Gryffindors."

"Right. Right- What are we doing, exactly?"

"You alright?" Harry gave him a silly little smile, laughs bubbling out of him. "I just told you. We're gonna go schedule our own little Quidditch game."

"Right. Okay. I… I'll try chasing, for a bit." Draco smiled, leaning close enough to kiss Harry's cheek gently. Harry blushed before quickly clearing his throat and, yeah- Yeah. This year was going to be wonderfully normal - well, normal enough for them.

::

"You know, maybe it's a good thing you're not going for seeker this year!" Oh, this cheeky brat.

"I am better than any of the other seekers out there and you know it!"

"Not better than me!" With that, Harry was diving towards the ground at speeds that near every sane person would _avoid_. Harry Potter, Draco had found, was anything but sane. Still, a flash of his broom, a wicked smile, and the boy was holding up the snitch with windswept hair.

"You know, playing at night isn't very smart anyway. You're the only person who can see the snitch in the dark. It's not fair. We shouldn't play in the dark anymore."

"Hey, I'm wearing glasses, I'm the one at the disadvantage here." Harry paused from where he was about to let the snitch go, staring towards the direction of the Forbidden Forest. "Hey, uh, Dray, did you hear anything just now?" Draco frowned and glanced in the same direction.

"No. Should I have?" Instead of flying back up, Harry touched down on the ground and walked _towards_ the Forbidden Forest, Draco flying down a bit closer.

"No- Maybe? I thought I heard something or maybe saw something."

"Harry?" Draco frowned, landing as well and catching up to Harry, placing a hand on his arm. "Hey. Maybe not go into the dark forest?"

"Yeah, see, I can see how that's a good idea." Harry patted at his hand, walking forward again. "It looked like a group of moving shadows." Oh, this boy had a death wish. "Do you think a Dementor got on school grounds?"

"It shouldn't have. They're supposed to be on the very edges of the grounds, away from the students. The only way it could be this far in would be if Sirius Black were."

"I'd rather Sirius Black than a Dementor," Harry muttered, jerking back into Draco and fumbling for his wand. Before Draco could panic and grab his own wand, a swath of the shadows walked forward and for a moment all Draco could see was _the Grim_ and remember their first Divination class. Then a large black dog was sitting down in front of them and giving a single wag of his tail.

"Harry… Is that-?" Was that the Grim-like dog? The one they'd left at Malfoy Manor?

"Snuffles!" Harry was running forward and dropping to his knees at once, wrapping his arms around the dog- No, there was no way that was a normal dog. They had left it at the _Manor_. "You found us!"

"Harry, I'm not sure I'd do that, if I were you." Draco drew his wand, though kept it pointed down at the ground. The creature looked up at him and stared into his eyes for a long few moments before heaving a great sigh, Harry _cooing_ at the thing.

"Poor thing, you must have walked a long way to get here, huh?" Harry scratched at his ears and head, frowning. "I bet he hasn't eaten much since then. How do you think he found us?"

"That's what I'm wondering. No normal dog would have been able to find us, let alone know to come look for us here." Something wasn't adding up. By all accounts, this wasn't an average dog, but there was no other evidence as to what it could be.

"Maybe he just got lucky," Harry shrugged, standing back up and brushing his robes off. "C'mon, we should probably get back inside. Hey, do you know how to conjure a bowl or something? I wanna give him some water before we leave."

"It would disappear in just a few minutes," Draco told him. Instead of accepting it, Harry gave him a pathetic look that was worse than any 'puppy dog eyes' the mangy mutt could make. "...Fine." Draco muttered the spell, wincing at the crude bowl he'd conjured. "Conjuring is not where my talents lie."

"It's more than what I can do," Harry laughed, taking the bowl with a quick kiss to Draco's cheek before setting it down. "Okay, and, um… What's the water spell again? Aqua…?"

" _Aguamenti,_ " Draco sighed, flicking his wand dully at the bowl. It filled up with water and Draco had a moment of pride at seeing Harry's starstruck look before it vanished at the _unimpressed look_ the _mutt_ was giving him. "Harry," Draco said softly. "Remember your tea cup from our first Divination class?"

"Considering Lavender and Parvati keep whispering and looking like I'm about to die, yeah, I remember," Harry snorted, patting at the creature's back as it lapped at the water. "Why?" Draco gave a significant look down to the dog, looking back up at Harry. He couldn't be the only one seeing the resemblance. "Wha- You think _Snuffles_ is the Grim?" Harry crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Isn't the Grim supposed to only show to the person about to die?"

"You don't think it's at least a little odd? I don't remember strays popping up at Hogwarts or the Manor last go around." That had Harry looking a bit more hesitant.

"Well- Well, you said things were different between there and here, right? Maybe this is one of them?" Harry looked back down to 'Snuffles,' biting at his lip. "I don't think he's dangerous, Dray. He's familiar."

That had Draco drawing back with a frown. "Familiar?" The only way the dog could be familiar would be if Harry met it before the past summer. And if he met it before the past summer, and it was back now, all the more reason to keep it away.

"Not- Not like 'hey I've seen this dog before a few years ago,' but more like he's just- I don't know. Safe, I guess? Smells familiar." Smell? "Like- Like you smell like sage and cauldron fire, right? He kind of smells like- Like okay there's that wet dog fur smell, but also kind of something sweeter? Reminds me of chocolate and Professor Lupin almost."

Sage... Cauldron- Hang on. "Harry- Harry, Harry, can you _smell_ magical signatures?" He knew Harry said he 'smelled' things a lot but he thought- He thought it was just- Just an overactive imagination!

"I- What?" Harry stared at him, starling as the creature nudged at his elbow, a quiet sound in the back of it's throat. "I don't- I didn't think you could detect magical signatures? It's just- You all have a smell."

"Some people can, though it's not very common," Draco sighed. "For me personally, I can mostly feel magical signatures." One of the reasons he had feared Voldemort so greatly and been so afraid at his 'mission' of killing Dumbledore. Their magic was far, far too powerful.

"I didn't know that was possible," Harry muttered, shaking his head. "That- It makes sense. I never smelled anything like that off the Dursleys, but then- Hagrid was stormy oceans and garden seeds, Hermione is old parchment and pen ink, Ron is sunshine and grass, and you're sage and cauldron fire."

"It... Really?" He supposed that made sense. Though now all those comments of sage made so much sense, truly.

"Sorry. I- Sorry. I probably should have realized it on my own."

Draco frowned down at him. "How." Staying silent, Harry only gave a shrug. "How could you have realized it on your own? And I just told you, I can do the same thing, albeit in a different way."

Sighing, Harry shifted to sit himself down on the grass, the _obviously magical creature_ if it had a signature sitting down next to him and laying it's head on Harry's lap. "I thought it was just me being weird when you never reacted. That's- That's how I always knew it wasn't you last year. The scent changed."

Draco startled at that, his eyes widening. "What- Really? You would think with it still being me, it would stay the same, he was still using my wand-"

"Death." Wha... "Smelled like death and rot and _hate_." Harry fell silent, looking back up at Draco. "Wasn't your magic." Draco only nodded.

"It makes sense. That's about what his magic felt like. The way the Dementors make you feel? That's what he feels like."

"About the same smell," Harry snorted. "So, uh, does that mean we can keep Snuffles? I mean, he walked all the way here to find us!"

"Harry, if anything, it's more reason not to- Bloody hell, we are not naming it _Snuffles!_ "

"I mean, Hyperion isn't much better, but I could be convinced if that horrible name means he gets to stay." Oh for the love of- He would _not_ let this go!

"Harry, normal animals don't have magical signatures." But… He couldn't really feel much from this dog. Enough to be acknowledged, but then easily passed off as being around a lot of magic.

"I think if he was some mass murderer in disguise or the Grim as you seem to think, I'd be dead instead of hugging him." To prove a point, Harry hugged the dog.

Draco snorted quietly. "Well, not if it was _Sirius Black._ " A loud, booming bark from the _beast_ had Draco scrambling a few steps backward, Harry laughing.

"How would Sirius Black turn himself into a dog, Dray? Besides, he's supposed to be 'out to kill me,' remember?" Cheeky brat.

"Maybe he's an animagus! Maybe he's one of the school owls at this very minute, waiting to swoop in at breakfast tomorrow-"

"And do what? You said Sirius wasn't a threat to me and that me and him got along great in your time." The mutt gave another, _quieter_ bark at least, pressing against Harry more.

"Yes, well… Well, maybe I lied," Draco huffed, crossing his arms and turning away. Honestly, Harry couldn't even tell that he was trying to _help_ him and if the boy was going to be difficult, well, then, Draco could be just as difficult-

"Dray." Harry's arms wrapped around his waist from behind and the teen was breathing and pressing against the back of his neck and when had he even stood? "Dray, c'mon, what's wrong?"

Draco shivered, leaning back against Harry. "Something just doesn't seem right."

"It… It is a little weird that he found us all the way at Hogwarts, but I don't think he's dangerous, Dray." Harry supported him easily, holding him closer and humming quietly. "Trust me a little, yeah?"

"Oh… Oh, fine," Draco huffed, keeping his arms tightly crossed. That did nothing to stop Harry from moving around to kiss his cheek, lingering for longer than he usually did and that was a lot _lower_ on his face than it usually was.

"Thanks, Dray." Draco, as always, wasn't able to hide his smile, only dropping his arms to wrap around Harry. Harry pulled back and grinned, pressing closer for a second. "I'll be careful, okay? 'Sides, I have you protecting me."

"Always," Draco promised. "Come on. Let's go turn in for the night."

"Sounds good." Hugging Draco, Harry moved to pet at the mutt's head. "Okay, 'Hyperion,' don't get into too much trouble, alright? We'll be back to check on you later." Bending down, it looked as if he was trying to talk quietly enough Draco wouldn't hear him. "Snuffles was a stupid name anyways, but it annoyed him well enough, didn't it?"

Draco scoffed. " _Harry James Potter!_ " Before he could yell anymore, Harry was up and running across the field, bright laughter leaving him. "You get back here, Harry!"

"No, I think you're gonna have to catch me instead, Draco!"

" _Harry!_ "


	10. Chasing Mischief

**A/N: Hey, all! Sorry these chapters are coming so slow. School and work have the both of us slammed super hard, I type from the school library while I await my next class. ~Kas**

 **Zzzzz -Kit**

 **My point exactly. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! ~Kas**

* * *

Draco had a single moment to enjoy waking up peacefully before he realized that there was someone sitting on top of him. Considering it was the morning of 'something important,' it didn't take long to guess who was sitting on top of him. Draco groaned and grabbed one of the pillows, trying to smother himself with it. One day. Just one day to sleep in. Was that too much to ask?

"Oh, are you awake? C'mon, we should go get breakfast." He was doomed to a life of dealing with Harry Potter, wasn't he? "We should probably get to the field early, too. You know how Wood is with his tryouts."

" _Harry,_ " Draco whined. "We've still got time." Draco tried to pull Harry back down to lay beside him. "Come on." The key word there, however, was tried. _Tried_.

"We've got so much to do today, though!" Harry's laughter was light and bubbling out of him, Draco cracking his eyes open just in time to see Harry duck down and then he felt warm lips on his cheek. "C'mon, Dray." Draco sighed, sitting up and smiling at Harry. For a moment. Then he jumped out of bed.

"Why are you looking at me?! I haven't gotten myself together!" Instead of looking properly apologetic, Harry only laughed louder and harder.

"It's _Quidditch tryouts_!"

"Yes, exactly! Do you know how many people are going to be there?!" This only caused the younger to laugh even more, and, really. He supposed it _was_ nice to see Harry laughing and happy. No doubt his boggart was still weighing heavily on his mind. Draco sighed, shaking his head as he gathered up his clothes and went into the bathroom. He left the _others_ all to sleep. It was only Draco he ever tortured.

By the time he was dressed and ready for the day and coming out, he saw one or two of the other boys had gotten out of bed and were no doubt getting breakfast. Harry was sitting next to one of the windows and looking out at the morning sun, content little smile on his face. Draco smiled and walked over, nudging him. "Come on then, Boy Wonder."

"You know, I am _technically_ a teenager." Harry slid off his seat and near knocked Draco backwards with the hug he gave him. "Morning."

"And yet, so immature," Draco laughed, bumping him and walking towards the door. "Come on."

"You're very bright and cheery for someone who was complaining so much not that long ago."

"What can I say? When my world seems to be on the bright side, how can I stay so upset?"

"'Bright side.' You _have_ seen how crazy Wood gets about tryouts, haven't you?" Harry caught up to him and twined their hands together, grinning up at him. "He's going to run us ragged."

"I dunno, you seem pretty happy." There was a moment where it all seemed to completely go over Harry's head before he was blushing brightly and looking away. Laughing again, Draco squeezed his hand. "You need breakfast before tryouts, Star Seeker."

"Fine, but only because you'll complain and kick up a fuss if I don't eat."

"And so will Wood, and Johnson, and Bell, and the Weasleys-"

"Alright, alright!" Harry whined, pulling Draco along down the halls with a dramatic frown. "Honestly, you all and your _caring_."

"Careful," Draco smirked. "You're starting to sound more like me by the day."

"Perish the thought." Harry hid a little smile by kissing at Draco's cheek. "Breakfast, then?"

"Breakfast sounds brilliant."

The second they were getting down to the Great Hall, the team was swarming them, most of them complaining about Wood and his horrible regime and the twins stealing Harry and getting him even more excited about visiting Hogsmeade for the first time. That was good. Harry always needed a few things to look forward to, around here. Too much death and despair, in his opinion.

"Are you both trying out for seeker again, this year?" Johnson asked, looking to Draco, mostly. "Because if Harry doesn't try out for seeker we think Wood might cry."

"Of course he's trying out for Seeker. What else do you expect?" The girl raised her hands peacefully, Bell breaking out into laughter. Honestly, the Gryffindors were so _cheery_.

"Are you trying out for reserve seeker this year, too, then?"

"No," Draco sighed. "I don't think so. I'm nowhere near as good a Seeker as him."

"But you are still trying out for something on the team, aren't you?" Mm, maybe he should make them panic a little. "Draco- Draco, come on, you know Harry will mope if you're not there."

"I've thought about it. But really... I'm not sure I have much of an interest in Quidditch anymore." The looks of horror the girls gave him almost had him cracking up. Almost.

"You're not trying out this year." Harry looked to him with wide, sad eyes, Draco seeing the spark of utter mischief. "Oh, well... Maybe we can just watch the games this year." Hm... Now, this could go one of two ways.

"Oh, no, Harry love, you don't need to do that... You should still play. You love it."

"But we only did Quidditch so we could be _together_ , more. What would be the point of being on the team without you there?" Across from them, Wood was looking ready to have a heart attack.

"I would still be at every game and practice, I just won't be playing with you. That's alright, isn't it?" Draco watched as Harry chewed on his bottom lip, looking to be thinking deeply about it.

"I guess... Maybe you could try out for another position on the team?" While Wood looked like he was dying, the twins looked to be trying not to break out in laughter. Draco stepped closer to him, smiling.

"Whatever lets me be beside you." This time, Harry had to work at not laughing.

"Well. I suppose you could try out for something else. Maybe... Chaser?" Draco took a deep breath to keep from giggling as he cupped Harry's cheek.

"What do I have to chase when I already have everything I want?" Instead of shooting a line back, Harry's cheeks flushed as his hair started to curl at the ends.

"I- Um, yes- No, what?" Draco released Harry to lean against him, laughter finally bubbling out and bloody hell, that was _hilarious!_ Did he see the look on Wood's face?!

"That was brilliant, you two."

"I think Hogwarts is going to be well taken care of when we leave, Fred."

"George, I couldn't agree with you more." Draco wrapped his arms around Harry, still laughing.

"Harry, that was _brilliant._ "

"Wait, wait, so _are_ you going to try out for Chaser this year?" The girls were swarming and moving them towards the table, Wood muttering curses under his breath and looking exhausted. It was a good day, so far.

Draco's smile began to slip away. "I… really don't know."

"Yes, he is," Harry jumped up, embarrassment starting to fade. "That's the reason we were practicing so much the last day or so. He's going to be trying out for Chaser, definitely."

"Am I, now? And what if I don't?" He couldn't help but to raise his chin, crossing his arms as he turned from Harry.

"Then you'll try out for Seeker again. Maybe reserve Keeper." Oh? And what- "You love being in the air, Dray, and you're competitive as hell. You're not going to sit back and let others play when you have a chance of being in the air to save the day."

"Excuse me. Who are you to say what I love and don't love?"

"Your boyfriend." Harry shot back, delightful blush spreading over his cheeks. "And your best friend. I know you."

"Wha- You- No, you can't-" How _dare_ he.

"Aw, you guys are so sweet together," one of the girls sighed, Finnigan snorting from where he was eating breakfast.

"I think you mean _worse_."

"Y'know, they sleep together in the dorm all the time." Oh- Oh, no, these _children._

"You mean like how you keep crawling into bed with Seamus every night," Harry smiled cheerfully. "Or is it where Seamus keeps going to sleep in your bed? It's hard to tell."

"You wanna know what's hard?" Oh, not Longbottom. "Trying to get to sleep and hearing you two every morning." Don't say anything. If Draco said anything like he wanted to then it would be suspicious because he was supposed to be thirteen. It was hard, though, when the girls were clearing their throats and the Weasley twins were bent over laughing. Prats.

" _Harry,_ I think we have a bit of studying to do in the library. _Now?_ " Draco didn't have to say much more before Harry was grabbing a few things off the table, grabbing Draco's hand, and pulling him along.

"We'll meet you on the field soon, guys!"

"I hate them. I _hate_ them- I hate you!"

"Mhm. Why do you hate me today, then?" _Ugh_! Why was Harry so _calm_ sometimes?!

"Because- _Because!_ Because you're an utter brat, you don't know when to shut up, you went and said that in front of everyone, completely embarrassing me-!"

Harry cut him off with a quick, soft kiss to his cheek, grinning at him. "Yeah, but you're a brat, too, so it evens out pretty nicely. C'mon, let's go eat this before practice."

"Right. Where are we going to eat it, exactly? If Madam Pince catches us with food-"

"Relax, we're not going down to the library. I figured we could go out on the grounds for a while. Maybe check on Hyperion while we're down there."

"Oh... Alright, _fine._ It's still warm enough, I suppose," Draco huffed, following after him as he rubbed at his cheek. This boy was bad for his heart no matter what time, it seemed.

"He's probably still starving even after we've been feeding him again. Can you imagine walking all that way? Poor thing."

"Poor thing my bloody arse, he's been slobbering all over you."

"He was probably walking all on his own for _weeks_ , Dray. I'd love to be hugged by someone after that, too."

"Dogs are the same as wolves, and wolves spend their whole lives prowling through forests on their own."

"Dogs are in no way the same as wolves," Harry laughed. "Have you ever even _met_ a dog before this one?"

"Yes," Draco huffed as they left the castle. "Fang."

"And he's a sweetheart! He loves us when we go and visit him- And Fluffy wasn't so bad, either, once you past the whole, you know. Biting thing."

"Fang has knocked me over no less than four times, and constantly trods all over my poor feet! Not to mention what he does to my face when he gets close enough."

"You're just upset he ruins your make-up," Harry snorted, munching on something off the plate he had grabbed. No doubt they'd get yelled at for taking dishes out of the Great Hall if anyone saw.

" _Yes,_ I'm upset he- Is that dog _laughing_ at me?" That dog was definitely laughing at him. There was no other explanation for the noises it was making.

"Of course not, Dray," Harry snickered, feeding _the creature_ a few pieces of bacon. "Now come eat before I feed him your eggs."

Draco scoffed. " _You wouldn't._ "

"Wanna find out?" Harry smirked and, dammit, this Harry was much more a Slytherin than the Potter he had grown up with. "He _does_ look awfully hungry, after all."

"Harry James Potter." Draco hurried over, punching his shoulder. "You give me my breakfast, you brat."

"Alright, alright," Harry laughed, holding the plate out to him and digging for his wand as he did so. "Alright, I'm gonna try those spells to get him some water."

Draco sat down on the ground. "Do you remember the spell?"

"Aquamenti?"

" _Agua_ menti."

"Shouldn't it be Aqua, though? I mean, that's the word for water, isn't it? And hey, I got the 'menti' part right!"

"Agua is also a word for water," Draco replied simply as he tucked into his food.

"Okay, but if they both mean water, then shouldn't either word work? I mean- There's gotta be some rules to magic, right?" Honestly, _why_ hadn't this boy gone into Ravenclaw or Slytherin?

"Yes, the rules are that you pronounce the spell correctly."

"But wouldn't they _both_ be correct? Maybe we should ask Professor Lupin about this."

"Okay, fine, try it, see if I care."

"Fine. I will." Harry turned to Hyperion, pointed his wand a little bit away, and cleared his throat. " _Aquamenti._ " To Draco's surprise, Harry's wand _did_ begin to spout water. Like a child at a drinking fountain, Hyperion came forward and began to lap at it before backing away and seeming to gag. "Oh, don't be dramatic." Harry huffed and caught some of the water before the spell ended, licking it off of his hand before gagging himself.

"What? What'd you _do_ to it?" Draco rose an eyebrow at the two of them. Harry couldn't have messed up a spell that badly, could he have?

"Salt water," Harry groaned, sitting by Draco and quickly grabbing something off the plate of food to eat. "It was _disgusting_."

Draco couldn't help but to laugh at that. "Really? It was salt water?"

"I mean, it had to be, it tasted horrible." Harry did the spell properly this time, both he and Hyperion looking at it cautiously before Harry looked to the dog. "You try first." The dog seemed to give him a look of betrayal before coming forward and lapping at the water. "Is it poisoned?" Seeing as the dog kept drinking, they could probably assume that it worked. "Right. Think Hermione will be interested to know the result of that one?"

"Unfortunately, I _know_ she will." No doubt it would inspire the girl to try to research spells and languages and then she'd end up dragging _Draco_ along with her.

"Maybe we should wait until classes settle down. She has enough on her plate with all the multiple classes." Harry was quiet for a moment before looking to him. "How are you doing with all of that?"

"Well enough. I expect it's easier for me than her, as I already know half the content."

"Half, but not all. What about the time traveling thing? Anything to worry about?"

"Not so far as I can tell, at least. It seems that I'm perfectly fine."

"You'd tell me if you weren't, right?" Harry leaned against him, watching Hyperion settle back down on the ground and stretch out.

Draco took the time to think it over before finally nodding. "I'd tell if there was something wrong, when I used the time turners." Not that there was likely to be anything, but that at least seemed to reassure Harry, the teen relaxing against him.

"Good. Also, we should probably start heading to the pitch before practice starts."

"Alright. I think... I think maybe being a Chaser will be good for me."

"If nothing else, the girls are gonna be happy," Harry laughed, bouncing to his feet before pulling Draco up. "I mean, you've heard their complaints. They're getting as bad as Wood about their 'passing legacy.'"

"Did you see them in there?" Draco laughed as he nudged at him. "'Oh, Harry, you just are the most darling little thing! You're like a little puppy, did you know that? You're _so_ sweet!'"

"Shut up," Harry laughed, shoving at Draco and grinning. "They're all horrible and you seem to be the only one who's realized that I almost went to Slytherin _for a reason._ " Behind them, Hyperion barked.

"Your dog is calling you."

"With that name, he's your dog, too," Harry grumbled, walking back over. "What's wrong, boy? You upset at how mean Draco is being?"

He huffed, waiting for Harry while tapping his foot. "I am not." The mangy mutt had the gall to look at Draco and then look at Harry and _whine_.

"I know," Harry cooed. "He's just awful, isn't he?"

Stamping his foot, Draco whined, " _Harry!_ "

"Alright, alright," Harry laughed, standing back up properly. "You can go ahead and have what's left on the plate, 'Hyperion.' We'll see you later."

Draco walked over and pulled Harry along by the arm. "Come on, then, leave the mutt to his food."

"You're going to end up liking him eventually," Harry huffed, letting himself be dragged along. "Alright, I'm coming."

"Then hurry it up, you little brat." Giving him one last tug, Draco raised an eyebrow as Harry pressed up against him before grinning, kissing his cheek, and running off ahead. " _Harry!_ You get back here!"

"Gotta catch me first, Dray!"

When tryouts started, they went about as Draco had expected. They had all the Seekers up first and he'd squeezed Harry's hand, giving him a little 'good luck.' Harry gave him a brilliant grin and, as utterly expected, blew everyone else out of the water. Wood looked ready to cry tears of joy that his Seeker was in top form. Draco had to of course clap for Harry. He was just so proud of him! And when Harry landed beside him, Draco couldn't help but to lean over and kiss his cheek. "You were brilliant."

"Oh- Ah- Thank you!" Harry flushed, looking a mix of delighted and embarrassed. It was rather sweet. "I mean, aha, I knew I'd do good, but, um, yeah." Harry cleared his throat. "Your turn, I think?"

"Not yet. He's doing Keepers first, see?" Draco nudged Harry's foot, nodding towards the field. Harry followed his gaze, eyes darting around the Keepers before his eyes widened.

"Is that- Is that Ron?"

"What? Don't-" Draco looked over. "Hell, it is."

"I didn't know he wanted to be Keeper- Why didn't he tell us?" Harry frowned, looking ready to shout before thinking better of it. "I'll yell at him after his tryout, but I feel very betrayed right now."

Draco shrugged, shaking his head. "I don't know. I don't see why he wouldn't tell us, he eventually-"

" _Might_ end up making the team, but we don't know, because we don't know the future and Divination is a joke." Harry stared at him after his rush of words, huffing. "You're a bad time traveller."

"Well, I'm sorry, it's not as though there were exactly _classes_ on how to time travel-"

"Hello, boys."

"Hey, 'Mione," Harry greeted quickly, stomping on Draco's foot as if he didn't know to be quiet. "Did you see Ron's trying out for Keeper?"

"I did," she told them with a smile as she sat down beside them.

"Did he tell you ahead of time? Because he didn't tell me and I'm feeling very betrayed." Oh, honestly. And people thought _Draco_ was dramatic.

"He did," she said with a nod. "He didn't want the two of you making such a fuss over him," she said with a pointed look to Harry.

"Me? Make a fuss? Hermione, I would never." Oh, Merlin, he had corrupted this boy.

"Harry, love," Draco said quietly. "Let him have this."

"Fine," Harry huffed, watching the tryouts intently. "But if he ends up on the team then I'm going to throw a party for him and have the twins help."

Draco laughed as he leaned against Harry. "Now, I never said not to do _that._ " Harry leaned back without even seeming to think about it, looking over at Hermione once he saw Ron wasn't in the air yet.

"You know, I'm kind of surprised you haven't taken over the library with how book happy you've been lately."

"Oh, well, with all these classes- Though, you know, Draco, I notice you haven't seemed to be having any sort of trouble in Ancient Runes, or Care of Magical Creatures, or History of Magic. You seem to already know everything."

"Please," Draco scoffed. "Care of Magical Creatures is hardly anything, History of Magic is understandable to _trolls_ as long as they actually stay awake, and Ancient Runes... Mm, I suppose I'm just gifted in that aspect."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "But you seem just as lost and confused as the rest of us, in Arithmancy and Divination."

"My poorer subjects, it seems. Arithmancy is harder than I would have thought, and Divination..."

"It's Divination," Harry snorted. "But, hey, we'll know our professor is right if I die this year."

"Harry, you're _not_ going to die- What, do you expect you'll just suddenly drop dead?"

"Dunno, maybe Sirius Black is gonna try and off me," Harry snorted. "I still can't believe they let those Dementor things into the school. I mean, just feeling them on the train..."

"I know. They're awful," Draco said with a shake of his head. "I hope we don't have to deal with them, anymore."

"They're not allowed into the school," Hermione pointed out. "Dumbledore's forbidden it- Oh, Ron's up next!" Draco watched along with the other two before he winced.

"Maybe... There's always next year?"

"He gets nervous really easily," Harry sighed, shaking his head at another fumble. "I don't get it. He's great when we all play together!"

"Maybe we just need to get him to play with more of an audience so he'll be used to it," Draco suggested.

"That's actually a good idea. We might have a decent Keeper replacement by the time Wood leaves."

Draco smiled and nodded. "I think he could be really great."

"The twins won't mind helping out," Harry grinned. "They'd love an excuse to throw bludgers at him."

"Are we sure they even need an excuse?"

"Good point, but this will get them excited about it."

"Alright. My turn up there. Wish me luck?"

Harry stared at him for a moment before grinning slowly and kissing Draco at the corner of his lips, face already flushed. "Good luck."

Right. Chasing.


	11. Doggone Mad

"Wood is posting the results," Harry said quietly, gaze completely focused as he looked to where Wood was trying to sneak the results onto the board without being seen. "I give it five seconds before he's swarmed."

"Well? Get over there, then." Draco smiled and nudged Harry over towards the board. Harry only stayed behind for a second longer before he was launching himself off the chair and straight to the board. Ron was right behind him and Hermione was sighing from her own seat.

"Honestly, these boys. Is Quidditch all you care about?"

"Yes, obviously," he drawled, rolling his eyes at her. "Can't you tell? It's a primal desire of all boys everywhere, to ride a broomstick professionally."

"Awful," Hermione tsked, looking to be holding in a smile. "I give it five seconds before Harry starts cheering about how you both made the team."

"Draco! Draco, you're on the team!"

"I'm what?" Draco frowned and stood, making his way over to the board as well.

"Told you," Hermione called out after him, Draco ignoring her as he walked over to where he was listed under _Chasers_.

"You're in," Harry beamed, hugging him tightly with a laugh. "Reserve Chaser!"

"I'm…" Draco frowned, feeling something twist in his stomach. "I'm a Chaser."

"Of course. You had one of the best tryouts," Harry pulled back, smile slipping. "Dray? Hey, you okay?"

"I… I'm fine. Really. Just… I've never played anything but Seeker." Draco felt hands in his before Harry was pulling him away from the board where people were starting to gather.

"Are you okay? You tend to get… You get like this when something changes."

Draco couldn't help his smile. "I'll be fine, Harry. Really. What will _this_ really change?"

"Dunno, but you've probably already thought up a million bad things," Harry huffed, staring at Draco for a moment before leaning in to swiftly kiss his cheek. "Change doesn't have to be bad."

" _Harry,_ " Draco huffed, turning away from him. "Are you going to do that whenever you feel like it?"

"Probably, yeah." Harry tugged on their hands, Draco seeing his grin. "I'll try not to make you uncomfortable with my 'boundless affection,' though."

"I'm not uncomfortable." It was just a bit startling, was all.

"It's okay." Harry leaned against him before shooting up. "Oh! We should write to your mom! She'll want to know you got a different position this year."

"You're right, she will. Father may be disappointed, though." Draco smiled at Harry. "Seeker is always a much more prideful position."

"He won't be disappointed," Harry smiled, pulling Draco along to grab their bags before leaving the common room. "He's proud of you no matter what. Even I can tell that."

"Maybe." Draco picked up his own bag, following after Harry. "Where are we going?"

"Well, first I figure we can go see Hyperion and tell him the good news." Honestly. Leave it to Harry to befriend what was no doubt the Grim. "Then we can write some letters and go mail them to your mom."

"Why not just write while we're out there?" There was a moment where Harry paused to think before pulling him along again.

"That works."

The two made their way down to the edge of the forest where Hyperion was waiting for them, Draco already summoning a bowl of water for him before shivering. "Wind is starting to pick up."

"It's not even Halloween yet and it's already getting colder," Harry huffed, pulling his robes tighter around him as he crouched down to pull Hyperion into a hug. "Hey, boy. How are you doing?" Hyperion whined, and looked as though he were _shivering._

"I suppose the cold is getting to him through that ragged fur, as well." Let's see… Draco knew a warming charm or two he could use for now.

"Yeah…" Oh, no. Harry had on his 'Savior' face. "So, uh, hey, Hogwarts- Hogwarts is pretty big, right? A lot of rooms? And stuff?"

"Y… Yes. Why do you ask?" Draco asked him with narrowed eyes. He wouldn't dare.

"Well- I mean, if there are a lot of rooms and a few of them won't be used or anything, it couldn't hurt if we just sort of… borrowed one. Right?"

"Borrowed a classroom. What are you proposing we do, with said borrowed classroom?" There was a long silence before Draco watched Harry hug Hyperion closer. "No," he said firmly. "No."

"But _Dray_." Harry whined, shivering along with Hyperion as another gust of wind went through. "Look at how cold it's getting! We can't leave him out here to die!"

"Harry, he is not going to _die,_ he's got fur!"

"You said it yourself! His fur is all ragged!" Harry turned big, watery eyes on him and oh. Oh, no. "Please, Dray?"

"Oh… Oh…! Fine!" Draco huffed, crossing his arms. "I don't suppose you have your cloak?"

"Always," Harry grinned. "Actually, considering that this is us and we're, well, _us_ , I started thinking ahead." Harry dug around in his backpack before pulling out the cloak and bloody hell. He just walked around with an invisibility cloak in his bag?

"You know how to think ahead?" Draco nudged him. "How are we going to do this, then?"

"Good question." Harry looked down to Hyperion and finally threw the cloak over him. "Okay. We just hide him like that and let him follow us into the castle."

"How do you know he's going to follow us, Harry? He's a _dog._ " The other only pouted and held his hand out, beaming after a moment.

"Nope, still there. You're forgetting, Hyperion is a _smart_ dog."

"Or a Grim. Or an animagus," Draco huffed, following along after them.

"He's not the Grim, Draco." That they knew of. "And if he was an animagus then we'd probably realize it by now- Who would he even _be_?"

Draco shrugged. "Sirius Black? Peter Pettigrew? Anyone else that doesn't like you?"

"Peter Pettigrew was one of my dad's friends, right?" There was a quiet growling and oh, boy, that was a lot more terrifying when Draco couldn't see where it was coming from. "Easy, boy."

Draco nodded, trying to keep his face as neutral as possible. "Wormtail. Which classroom do you believe he should be hidden in?"

"Well, you see, he behaves so well so I thought that maybe, just maybe, he doesn't have to stay in a _classroom._ "

"Those are the only empty rooms within the castle, Harry, where else will he stay?"

"Well." The word was drawn out in a cute little manner- Oh, no. "Maybe he can stay with us?"

"No," Draco told him. " _No!_ In our _dorm room,_ Harry? It won't be so easy to hide him from our four other dorm mates!"

"Well- I mean- We can maybe tell them and they'd probably help? Dray, he'd be so _lonely_. And what if one of the teachers found him!"

"What if one of the teachers finds him in our _dorm,_ Harry!" Draco shook his head. "No. No, I won't do it."

"Okay- That's okay! We can just blame it all on me if he ever gets found out." There was a quiet whine, Harry quickly pressing his hand down against what looked like thin air, but was probably Hyperion's back. "Please, Dray?"

Draco crossed his arms, looking away from Harry. "Even if we _were_ to attempt this, which we _shouldn't,_ how do you plan to get him up there safely?"

"We just… go slow, you know? Make sure he's by our sides, be careful on the steps, and try to make it look like we're not sneaking an invisible dog up into the tower."

"Right. Because it's just that easy. And if someone stops to speak with us?"

"You charm them and I keep going. You can catch up later."

"This is a terrible idea, you know."

"That's not a no, though." Harry gave a truly pathetic pout that put a great deal of his previous ones to shame. "Please, Dray?"

Draco thought about it. "What's in it for me?"

" _Well_." Harry moved to throw his arms around Draco's shoulders and lean against him and oh, alright. He was suddenly a lot closer. "What do you want?"

Draco felt himself flush, even as he looked away. "You're creative."

"I try to be." Harry's lips brushed against his jaw as he leaned forward and Draco had to focus very hard on not saying anything stupid. "How about you keep thinking about it while you help me, and then I'll make it up to you however you want."

"Fine. Okay. Fine. Let's get this over with. You won't stop pestering me unless we do!" There was some kind of _noise_ from Hyperion, Draco willing to let it go as Harry patted at 'thin air' again.

"Great! Alright, Hyperion, you have to be quiet, okay? This is very important and we _cannot_ get caught." The dog, from under the cloak, gave a soft whine, but other than that stayed remarkably quiet. "Okay. Let's go."

::

"You could have said no." Ron was staring at Hyperion with something akin to horror. Hyperion was only quietly wagging his tail from where he was sitting on Harry's bed. "You could have told him _no_."

"I… I was temporarily Imperiused." While Thomas and Harry shot him confused looks, Ron, Finnigan, and Longbottom looked unimpressed.

"Right. By the dog or Harry?" Ugh. When did Longbottom get so _sassy_?

"I will have you know that I very well _was_ mind controlled. You say no to him."

"It's not that hard to say no to him," Finnigan scoffed, looking to where Harry was cooing over Hyperion and _nuzzling_ against him. "I just don't want to, usually. I mean- He never really asks for anything, does he?"

Draco laughed at that. "Maybe not from you." That had Ron snorting and shaking his head, looking a bit better about the monster that had taken over the dorm room.

"I mean- I guess if he doesn't cause trouble or try to kill us in the middle of the night then it's okay."

"You hear that, Harry?"

"I told you there was nothing to worry about," Harry pointed out, looking relieved anyways. "And don't worry. Hyperion is a giant softy. His name _was_ Snuffles-"

"Until Harry realized that the name was completely and utterly awful in every way."

"It got great reactions out of you," Harry snickered, Hyperion looking like he was _laughing_ with the brat. Draco should throw them both out. Draco sat on his own bed with a huff, crossing his arms and facing away from Harry.

It was probably seven seconds before he felt Harry sit down next to him and squirm up to his side, hand gripping his sleeve as he reached up to kiss Draco's cheek. "Think of what you want?"

" _Harry,_ " Draco hissed, firmly not looking at him.

"Wha- What? What'd I say?"

"Just- Just forget it. Nothing."

"Okay." Harry gave him a little nudge. "I mean, I won't forget it, but I'll drop it. Now, come on and pet Hyperion. He's fluffy."

"No. I'm fine." There was a little huff beside him, Harry standing up and then swiftly kissing Draco's cheek. " _Harry!_ "

"Bye, love you, gonna go steal some food for Hyperion!"

Harry left the dorm, leaving Draco sitting there. "I hate him."

"No, you don't."

"Pretty sure it's the opposite, mate."

"Didn't know they changed the meaning of the word love."

"Shut up, the lot of you!" There was the sound of claws against the floor and Draco looked down to see Hyperion had moved and was now gently touching his nose to Draco's knee. Draco frowned, staring down at the dog before gently petting his head.

"I thought you hated dogs." Ron was frowning at him. "Every time you see Fang you basically run away screaming in terror."

"I do _not!_ " He pouted at Ron. "I just… Don't have good experiences with particularly large canines."

"You seem fine with that one," Finnigan nodded at Hyperion. "He probably can't even bark, I bet." Hyperion stiffened before looking to Draco and then to Finnigan.

Draco stood, arms crossed. "He can too. Sounds like thunder right above you! And he's different. He's Harry's."

"Ah, so you have to play nice with the boyfriend's pet. Got it, got it. And I mean, come on? Thunder-" As Finnigan spoke, Hyperion moved in front of Draco and Draco knew the second he was about to bark and Merlin. Even the dog was a Gryffindor, it seemed. Draco turned slightly to brace himself just as the dog gave a couple loud barks, Draco setting a hand on his back.

"We should have named you Godric." Hyperion seemed pleased as could be at Finnigan's swearing and the boys' loud complaining.

"Bloody hell, we're not going to keep him a secret for long if he stays _that_ loud all the time!"

"He didn't until you went and insulted him!"

"I just said he couldn't bark!"

"Proved that wrong, didn't he," Longbottom snorted. "I like him. I mean, it'll be good to have an extra guard if Sirius Black breaks in or something."

Draco opened his mouth to retort before the dog… The dog started laughing? "And what are _you_ laughing at?"

Ron snorted. "What if the dog _is_ Sirius Black?" The laughter stopped, thank Merlin. Such a weird noise.

"Right. Obviously. The dog that was _cuddling_ with Harry is Sirius Black." Thomas seemed to hardly get the words out through his laughter. "Pretty sure he won't get past the Dementors, even if he did manage to look like a dog."

"Well… He did once, already," Draco pointed out. That had the boys going quiet for a moment, Thomas finally shrugging.

"So what. Lots of people break out of jail sometimes. They always catch them."

"Yeah, but… It's Azkaban," Finnigan said softly. "Mum's told me stories about the place. Right nasty, it is. Half the inmates don't even sleep they're so scared and… empty."

"If they receive the Kiss," Draco nodded. "There's… Nothing left." Hyperion whined softly from Draco's feet. Even animals knew to fear Dementors, no doubt.

"It's not just a prison," Ron sighed. "It's like- It's bad. I mean, even the ones that aren't Kissed go crazy."

"If not entirely insane, they lose any and all reason to live." Draco glanced up at them before looking back down at Hyperion. "I've an aunt in Azkaban. Mad as they come."

"Sounds bad," Thomas muttered, Draco watching Hyperion whine softly and look over to Longbottom, the teen looking a little more withdrawn. Why- Oh. Right. Draco remained silent, stroking Hyperion's fur and trying to keep his hands from shaking. No matter what, there was still _so much_ that the Malfoys and the Blacks alike had to pay for.

The door opened and Harry appeared like the sunshine he was, rambling away with a plate of food before pausing, squinting, and looking at the others. "Why does it seem like I just missed a serious conversation?"

Draco smiled at him. "Nothing. What did you get for him, then? Spoiling him?"

"Thought that was your job." Harry set the plate down next to Hyperion, patting the top of his head before standing back up and emptying his pockets. "Also got us some snacks."

"Harry, this is probably enough for the entire _house,_ " Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"I mean, it's also a bribe to win everyone's favor so I can protect Hyperion," Harry said in a dead, even tone, smirk quirking his lips as he grabbed a pumpkin pastry.

"Yeah, yeah," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "The mutt can stay. I guess. Right, fellas?"

"As long as he doesn't bark like that again and wake me up," Finnigan complained, him and Thomas both grabbing a bunch of snacks. "Then, yeah. The mutt is fine."

Draco smiled at Harry, taking his hand in his own. "There you go, see?"

"The snacks helped," Harry huffed, smiling anyways as he squeezed Draco's hand back. "Thanks, Dray."

"Well, after he just hugged and squeezed the poor mutt to death-"

"I did _not!_ " There was a little huff of a noise from Hyperion, the dog looking at Draco before turning away as if to say 'Us? Show affection? Please.' Draco couldn't help but smile, scratching the poor mutt's ears. Hyperion tilted his head into it at once, Harry choking on a laugh.

"I see you two finally reached a truce, then." Harry kissed Draco's cheek, ruffled Hyperion's fur, and then headed over towards where one of his sketchbooks was lying on the bed.

"I suppose he's not so bad," Draco hummed, gesturing to Harry's bed. "Go on, up there, then. You can sleep there." Hyperion sat and stared at him, looking between Harry and the bed.

"Maybe he was a pet and wasn't allowed on the bed," Ron called out. "Go on, boy, it's not like Harry ever sleeps in _his_ bed."

"Go on," Draco said again. "Get up." It took a while, but Hyperion finally jumped up onto the bed and flopped down with an exhausted air around him. Poor thing had been outside for far too long, probably. Draco sat on his own bed, looking to Harry. "Going to draw him, then?"

"It'd be a wasted opportunity if I didn't," Harry said, quite seriously, as he crawled onto his bed and poked at Hyperion's cheek with his pencil. "Don't move too much, okay?" The dog yawned, though didn't seem to see any point in moving. Draco only reached for his bag.

"Right. Now, to write a letter, which I was going to do before you distracted me." Instead of being repentant, Harry only grinned brightly and went to work at sketching Hyperion. Now, let's see…

 _Dear Mother,_

 _All seems to be well so far, this year. A small number of the other students are worried for Harry's safety, what with everything, but I have confidence that this year will turn out significantly better than the last two. I may even dare say that - aside from Quidditch-related incidents - we may never see the inside of the hospital ward!_

 _Speaking of Quidditch, you may be interested to know that this year, I will not be playing as a Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Instead, I tried out this year as a Chaser… And I made reserves, yet again. Not quite as glamorous as a starting position, but much better than not playing at all._

 _Any advice towards Harry for his first Hogsmeade visit? I very much intend on perusing Honeyduke's Sweets Shop, having heard so much about it._

 _Your little dragon,_

 _Draco Malfoy_

 _P.S. Any tips for caring for those of the canine breed? Asking for a friend._


	12. Drowning in Secrets

**A/N: Good news! We just finished writing the last of Traitorous Marauder, and we'll probably be moving onto the next book, soon! It took a while to get here, but I'm confident that we're over the hump, now. Just you wait! ~Kas**

* * *

 _My dear little dragon,_

 _I'm glad it is not myself alone who is worried for Harry and his safety. While I doubt my cousin would truly wish to hurt him, it is better safe than sorry even in peaceful times such as these. I would certainly hope that you two don't end up back in that ward, either! If I have to come down to that school because my sons got hurt once again, then I will make sure you are under charms aplenty when you return for fourth year - if you manage to survive that long._

 _I am grateful to hear, however, that you two are having a nice year so far and that the both of you are back on your house team. You'll have to tell us when the games are so we can stop by and watch when we can. From what I remember, reserves for Gryffindor will only mean that you start later in the game._

 _As for Harry and Hogsmeade… There's a store on the outskirts of town, past Hog's Head, that is called 'the Ink Well.' He still enjoys drawing, yes? Take him there. He'll have quite the time._

 _Your adoring and proud mother,_

 _Narcissa Malfoy_

 _P. S. - No._

Draco was reading through the letter at breakfast. "Mother's gotten back to me. No advice for caring for Hyperion, I'm afraid."

"I think that's more of a 'no you can't have a dog' kind of no," Harry pointed out, reading the letter over his shoulder before letting out a burst of startled laughter. "'Little dragon'?"

Draco frowned at Harry, swatting his arm. "My name, and the constellation I was named for. And she didn't explicitly say anything about having a dog."

"You Slytherin," Harry snorted, reading the rest of the read. "Wonder what's at the 'Ink Well' though. Sounds kind of cool."

"I'm not certain. I don't think I've been before, but it certainly sounds like somewhere Blaise and Hermione may be interested in."

"Where would we be interested in?" Hermione was trying to read from three textbooks at once, it seemed, and Ron was shooting her looks that were both worried and amused.

"A shop down in Hogsmeade mother just told me about. 'The Ink Well.' Certainly sounds your speed, moreso than Zonko's."

"I don't know if I'll have time to go into Hogsmeade. There's just so much to catch up on!"

"Come on, 'Mione. The semester's barely even _started_ and you're already getting carried away."

"He's right. Look, come the first Hogsmeade visit, the four of us will all go down, then we'll come back up and the two of us will study together. How's for that?"

"Well…" Hermione was tempted. It only took a shy little smile from Harry and a beaming smile from Ron to get her to sigh and close her books. "Alright, alright. I suppose it won't hurt as long as we study afterwards."

"There we are." Draco was pleased, smile only falling a bit when he saw Harry's expression. It looked like a smile, almost, but there was an edge of… _something_ to it. Confusion, almost? Draco tilted his head. "Harry? You alright?"

"Yeah, just- Just thinking is all, I guess." Harry stared at him a second longer before leaning his head on his shoulder. "Nothing bad, though."

"As long as it's nothing bad. Honestly, I'm glad you can think at all!" That earned him a little shove, but Harry was laughing and looking like he wasn't thinking so heavily on whatever he had been.

"You two are worse than before," Ron complained. "At least before I didn't have to deal with all this flirting."

"What- Flirting? This isn't flirting," Draco told him with a frown.

"It's your version of flirting," Hermione hummed, grin wide and amused. "You do it quite often." Draco frowned. He didn't understand them- That was _not_ what flirting was. "Flirting can be different for everyone, you know."

"What? Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed, rolling his eyes at her. "What do you know?"

"In this? More than you, it seems."

"Hmph."

"Right. I'll meet you guys at our first class." Harry stood up and piled a few things on a plate. "I need to take this upstairs."

Hermione frowned at him. " _What?_ "

Draco only shook his head. "He stockpiles like a small animal."

"Hang on," Ron said suddenly. "Are you doing Ancient Runes homework? Isn't that at the same time as Divination? You haven't been to that class once!"

"Are you really going to question _Draco and Hermione_ about extra classwork?" Harry raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "They probably just arranged something with the teachers so they do all the work and studying outside of class. Percy did something like that, didn't he? A self-study course for something dealing with the Ministry?"

"Oh. Well… Yeah." Ron laughed, shaking his head. "Here I thought you were taking the classes at the _same time._ " Draco threw a significant glance to Harry.

"Yeah, I don't think being in two places at once is a third year spell." Harry bent down to kiss Draco's cheek, whispering quietly. "He'll do good in Divination, then, yeah?"

"Little scary," Draco murmured back to him. "Don't be long."

"I won't. Just want to make sure Hyperion has something to eat until dinner tonight." And off he went.

"So. What do you suppose is next in our classes?"

"Hopefully we'll be learning new theory soon!"

"Theory!" Ron shook his head. "I hope we learn more _spells_ soon!"

"I think you've learned enough spells," Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes at Ron.

"Oi. What's that supposed to mean?" Ron frowned and huffed and it probably shouldn't be as hilarious as it was, but Draco had too many memories of tormenting Weasleys and their proclivity of turning as red as their hair when flustered. Draco grinned at just the _thought_ of it.

"I just mean, you can use one spell for a variety of uses. I'm sure you'd use a nice warming charm to set fire to your bedroom curtains, or maybe some transfiguring on, say… Your teddy bear?"

Ron narrowed his eyes and hissed a quiet, "Don't you dare bring that up. They'll _hear you_." Honestly. Ron seemed to think those twins were out to ruin his life some days.

"Hear what? It's not as though you have a teddy bear with you _now_ for them to use." Ah, sweet, sweet victory in the form of absolute silence and Hermione's growing grin as she looked between them. It was too easy. "Oh… _Ronnie-kins._ "

"Alright, that's it-" Before Ron could do anything too Gryffindor, Draco felt himself tugged off the bench by the back of his robes before his hand was grabbed and pulled along.

"Come on!" Harry said cheerfully. "We don't want to be late for class!"

"Oh. Harry. When did you get back?"

"Five seconds ago. I realized I left you alone."

"What's wrong with that?"

"You're far too much of a Slytherin." Harry slowed down and glanced around at the empty halls before leaning back to kiss Draco's cheek. "You rile Ron up way too much."

"You like it, don't you?" Instead of huffing or grumbling or even rolling his eyes, Harry only hummed and leaned forward to kiss Draco's cheek again, lingering longer than he usually did.

"I guess I always was fond of snakes."

Draco felt his face grow warm as he swatted Harry away. " _Harry!_ "

Harry laughed and ran off down the halls towards their first class of the day. "Better hurry before Ron remembers that he's angry at you!"

::

"You know, I'm really warming up to this class." Harry seemed delighted at whatever Hagrid planned to bring to class today - not that Draco even knew. These classes were _years_ ago for him and he was rather certain they had spent months on flobberworms.

"Are you?" Draco hummed, sitting on the grass and looking around at the field. It was a rather peaceful day out, and even with the chill in the air it was a good day for an outdoor class.

"Definitely," Harry nodded. "I'm gonna go help Hagrid and see if I can't see what he has for us today. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Alright, hurry back."

Harry was only gone for a few moments before one of the students behind Draco spoke, " _Considerably quiet, all taken into account._ " Draco rolled his eyes, only half wondering who they were gossiping about now. Honestly, third years were worse than a sixth-year Pansy. Then again… couldn't hurt to listen for a little while. " _So many around, and yet they're all silent. Ah, but they are young._ "

" _This age is just perfect for them. The old ones complain and the little ones scream. At least now they can be quiet enough for us to enjoy it._ " That… Alright. Probably not a student. Two professors talking? Draco didn't recognize their voices.

" _This age is perfect? They are just entering adolescence. That always brings out the worst in them all._ "

"Pardon, but I don't think-" Draco's voice cracked and died as he stared at two snakes that stared back at him. More accurately, he was staring at _giant snakes_ that could probably _swallow him whole_. "Ah. Not teachers."

" _They also still scare so easily at this age._ " The snake… talked.

" _Oh, be kind. He's still young, yet._ " The snakes were talking and he was understanding them and that was- That shouldn't happen. That shouldn't be _happening_.

Draco rose his voice, "Ha- _Harry!_ " He wasn't sure if anyone else heard him, but he felt more than saw Harry run up and stop right beside him before there was silence.

"Those- Those are very big snakes. So, uh- Let's- Hey, you guys aren't gonna eat us or anything, right?"

" _No, young one. We have been well fed._ "

"Harry," Draco whispered. "I understand them."

"Yeah, they're a bit weird, though." Harry suddenly stiffened, eyes wide as he looked down to Draco. "You… understand them."

"I understand them."

" _Not many care to listen to our kind._ "

"Oh, good on ya, Harry! You found them! Bernadette, Georgie, you know not to get out," Hagrid scolded the snakes.

" _He's so sweet, but such a fool, as well,_ " one of the snakes hissed, dropping down into the grass. Draco saw the grass move as both snakes slithered over to Hagrid. " _Good day, serpent speakers._ "

"I understood them," Draco repeated, watching as Hagrid brought the two of them to the front of the class and began to explain how exactly they were magical, not that Draco was much listening.

He might have spent the rest of the class staring at nothing if it wasn't for Harry suddenly grabbing his chin and jerking his head over, eyes narrowed and looking into his own. For a moment, Draco could easily see why people had feared Potter in the war, and then his Harry was sighing and dropping his tense posture. "Okay- Okay. Still you."

"Why can I understand them? We got read of it- It's _gone!_ " Draco felt himself ready to panic completely before Harry grabbed him by his cheeks.

"Hey. Hey, focus on me, okay? It's okay. Let's think about this without panicking or freaking out or anything, okay? Please?"

"Harry," Draco said, holding Harry's hands. "How can I understand them?"

"I…" Harry went quiet for a moment, squeezing Draco's hand and sitting down properly in front of him. "What if it _is_ the diary, but not the way we think?"

"What do you mean? What other way can it be?"

"Well, I mean- Dray, you were controlled by that thing for almost the whole year. Maybe it affected your magic? Made you be able to understand snakes since his magic gave you that ability?"

"I-" Draco opened his mouth to speak before his eyes widened. "All magic leaves a mark." Of course… It made sense. A year of magic that dark being in contact with this own? He was lucky he wasn't in St. Mungo's!

"What?" Harry frowned, tugging at Draco's hands. "What'd you figure out? What's wrong?"

"Harry, all magic that strong? It leaves a mark. Like your scar."

"So it left a mark on you and you can speak Parseltongue, now?" It seemed that way. "We probably should have noticed sooner, huh?"

Draco frowned and looked back up at Harry. "What? How could we have noticed?"

"I mean- I probably should have noticed or something seeing as I'm a- A snake speaker or whatever it is."

"And… When was the last time either of us so much as saw a snake?"

"I… I guess not since the basilisk."

"So how could either of us have known?"

"Stop reassuring me. I'm supposed to be reassuring you." Harry smiled a bit anyways before sighing. "Okay. You can talk to snakes. That's not the worst thing in the world, right?"

"No… No, I suppose not."

"Do you want to tell anyone? Sev or your mom?" Draco shook his head.

"No. Not them."

"Okay. Anyone else you want to know about this? Because it seems kind of important."

Draco thought over it, worrying at his lip. "Is it? It doesn't seem to be _that_ important."

"Do you want Ron and Hermione to know, at least? Maybe Pansy or Blaise?"

"Well…" Did they _really_ need to know? It didn't seem to be that important.

"Draco." Harry went quiet for a moment before sighing. "Think about telling them, at least?"

"I… I'll think about it," Draco sighed as well, looking back up to the lesson. "We can just ask them all the answers."

"That feels like cheating," Harry snorted, sitting up and staring at Draco for a moment before biting his lip and rocking forward to kiss the corner of Draco's lip. Draco knew his face was red as he just looked away from Harry firmly. He would _not_ react. That would encourage him. "Okay? Or too much?"

"I'm fine." Draco felt himself pulled to his feet, Harry squeezing his hands one more time before letting him go.

"Shall we go dominate today's discussion and start up some old rumors, then?"

Draco smiled and leaned over, kissing just at the corner of Harry's eye. "Let's."

A bit of a weird and worrying start to the year, Draco supposed, but it would be okay. This was their year to just be normal and relax, after all, and after this, well. He was sure nothing else too bad could happen.

::

"Don't forget to turn in your Hogsmeade permission slips if you haven't already- Yes, Mr. Longbottom, your grandmother sent yours to me directly over the summer. Mr. Potter, a word, if you please." As their Transfiguration class ended, Draco shot Harry a small frown, though shooed him off.

"I'll wait outside for you, don't worry." It wasn't likely to be anything too bad and, at most, McGonagall probably wanted to talk to him about his grades.

"I'll be quick," Harry smiled, grabbing his own bag and fighting through the crowd of students to get to McGonagall's desk. Draco grabbed his own bag and remained true to his word, waiting outside for Harry to finish his conversation with McGonagall. " _What?!_ "

Alright, that did not seem to be about grades, then. Draco could probably just cast a little eavesdropping spell- "On what grounds can you ban me from Hogsmeade?!"

"With circumstances being as they are, Potter, it has been decided that you leaving Hogwarts grounds would be unwise. This was not my decision."

"Circumstances. You mean with people _thinking_ that Sirius Black is out to get me even though there's no proof of anything like that. Professor, you know this isn't fair."

"I am sorry, Potter. My hands are tied."

"Is this-" Harry's words stopped as if he had been spelled silent. Draco honestly worried until he heard the other speaking once more. "Is this punishment for refusing to go back to the Dursleys?"

"What? The who? Oh- Oh, no, Potter. That has nothing to do with this." There was silence again and Draco could feel Harry's magic beginning to rise.

"Sorry, Professor, but it still feels like I'm being punished." Not even a few seconds passed before the door was opening and Harry was shutting it quietly and a… A smile on his face. "Sorry to make you wait."

"Everything alright?" That wasn't fair! There was no more of a risk to Harry than any other student who went down into Hogsmeade!

"Of course." Harry couldn't honestly be ready to hide behind a smile _again_. If he thought he could, then he had another thing coming! "I'll tell you when we're in the dorm," Harry whispered as soon as they were away from the door. Draco watched him before nodding and pulling him along.

"Let's go, then." The sooner they got up to the dorms the sooner Draco could write a letter home to his mother.

It didn't take long to get to the tower, Draco pulling Harry all the way up to the dorm room before finally letting him go. "Right. How much did you hear, then?"

"Just about all of it?" There was a scratch from the half open bathroom door where Hyperion poked his head out before walking over to them, tail wagging.

"That has to be against the rules!" Ah, so much for Harry's 'calm.' "They can't just- They can't just _ban me_ from Hogsmeade!"

"It is ridiculous," Draco agreed. "They shouldn't be allowed to do that." Hyperion was whining at their feet, Harry dropping down to pull him into a hug.

"It's okay, boy. Everyone here just seems to think I'm about to be murdered by 'Sirius Black'."

"They could not be further from the truth."

"Well, until whatever happened in your time happens in this one, I guess there's not much of a choice," Harry grumbled, not fighting as Hyperion whined and leaned more against him.

"It'll be okay, Harry. I don't need to go to Hogsmeade. It's not so fanciful. Like any other wizarding community, really." Draco sat beside Harry, running a hand through his hair.

"What- No, you should still go." Harry frowned, giving Draco a little shove with his shoulder. "I mean, there's not that many visits, right? I'll be fine on my own for a day."

"Harry. If we'd really like to, we can come visit during the summer. Mother and father can just apparate us, and we'll miss the floods of Hogwarts students- That's actually a clever idea."

"Still," Harry frowned. "Part of the fun is probably being there _with_ everybody." Well, it wasn't worth it if Harry were to be left behind. "I'll be fine."

"I know you will." Draco smiled at him before laying back in his bed. "What were we going to do?"

"In Hogsmeade or before McGonagall utterly crushed my hopes and dreams?"

"Before you spoke with our slightly terrifying head of house," he snorted.

"'Slightly.'" Harry rolled his eyes as he moved to sit on the bed next to Draco. "You were thinking about experimenting with the time turner and I was trying to convince you to not be an idiot."

"Oh. Yes, I should, though. Do you think it can go forward?"

"I mean… Wasn't it made to just go back in time? Going forward in time sounds more complicated."

Draco beamed at him. "I have no idea!"

"Please don't use magic without any idea what it's going to do- Why don't you ask Hermione about this?"

"Don't you think that might only give her more ammunition? Teaching her about time magic?"

"Or maybe it will make her doubt herself," Harry grinned, leaning against Draco. "After all, if you were really from the future, why would you be leading her towards the answer? That doesn't sound like you at all."

"I-" Draco paused, thinking it over. "You're right."

"Sorry, can you say that again?" Harry smirked and honestly, he was such a snake some days. "I think I was daydreaming that the great Draco Malfoy admitted someone else was right."

"Harry, you're not _someone else._ " There was a moment where Harry looked ready to shoot back with another quip before he paused, closed his mouth, and leaned his head on Draco's shoulder and tried to hide a grin.

"Still." Draco wrapped him up in a hug, smiling gently. Harry relaxed against him, giving a small sigh. "Did this happen in your time? Potter being banned from Hogsmeade?"

"I…" Draco gave a small shrug. "I don't know, for sure. I can't recall, much-" Draco's jaw dropped open. "He had been. I remember seeing his head in Hogsmeade. _Just_ his head."

"Sorry, what?" Harry pulled back, smile twitching at his lips. He seemed stuck between being amused and looking incredulous. "Just his _head_?"

"Just his head. Which meant he'd been using his cloak- Oh that little snake!" Instead of bursting into laughter, Harry was only staring vacantly at the wall before that smile from before grew and oh, no.

"The cloak." Harry's grin grew again. "So if _Potter_ could pull that off…"

Draco snorted, crossing his arms. "You think he got away with that? I had Sev on him as quickly as Vince or Greg could pounce on sweets."

"So he was only discovered because of you, right?" Wait- No, that wasn't what Draco had meant! "So if I were to go now, then no one would ever known. You keep saying how similar everything is."

"Yes, everything is similar, which means the man who caused the death of your parents _is_ still wandering free."

"That could still mean- Wait- Sorry, what?" Harry stared at Draco and suddenly looked shocked. From their feet, Hyperion gave a sudden and loud bark that startled them both. Harry recovered quickly, looking back to Draco, "What do you mean wandering free? You mean he's _alive_?"

Draco quickly glanced around the empty room. "I- That's not to say that he is- It's just that it's safer if you- You'll understand later-"

"Draco." Harry's voice wasn't soft and warm anymore. "Who else was involved in killing my parents?"

"Well, all of the Death Eaters were, Harry! It was a large operation, one that my aunt was a part of!"

"You're deflecting." Harry squirmed his way free and slid down to the floor to hug Hyperion tightly. "At least… Just say you can't tell me and leave at that, but just please don't lie to me."

He sighed softly, sliding down to sit beside Harry. "You know I don't lie."

"It was the spirit of lying," Harry complained, slowly leaning back against Draco. "I just… Everyone keeps throwing me in the dark."

"I know, but… This is one of those things that's _very_ important, Harry." Draco wrapped an arm around his waist. "If something changes here, it could change everything else."

"I thought it was gonna be a normal year." Well… "Then again, I guess it wouldn't be us if there weren't a few crazy things, huh?"

"This is… This is as normal as we get." The two fell into a soft quiet, Hyperion settling down to lay his head in Harry's lap as the three just… were.

"Want to see if we can practice Parseltongue?" Draco couldn't help a snort, swatting at Harry's arm.

" _Harry._ I really should be doing homework- I should get Hermione as well."

"Or…" Harry trailed off, shifting and leaning over to kiss Draco's cheek. "You could spend a bit more time with me, instead."

Draco bit at his lip, turning away from Harry. "What would we be doing?"

"Oh." The sound was soft and breathed more than said, Draco snapping his gaze back to Harry to see he was grinning. "That- Okay. Yeah. Wanna be my model? I need some more drawing practice."

"What? Oh- Um- Alright? I can still do homework if I'm- Why don't I just go get Hermione?" Draco watched as Harry stumbled to his feet before reaching down to help him up, as well.

"Sure. I can draw you both. I need to practice drawing her hair, anyways. Do you know I think she puts quills in there and doesn't find them again." Draco laughed as he got to his feet properly.

"Quills? How do you think she carries all of her books everywhere?" The two were laughing and giggling as they gathered their bags to go back down to the common room, Draco pleased at seeing Harry's bad mood from earlier was gone. This year might still have some complications, but… It would be okay.


	13. Halloween at Hogwarts

**A/N: A note to our FFN followers: Come on, y'all, admit it. FFN is becoming the weaker species. Therefore, we are gonna start phasing out the use of our FFN accounts. This Iambic Brose account has an AO3 counterpart, named YouAreMyHappilyEverAfter. Everything on this FFN should also be on that AO3. If you're interested in our personal accounts as well on AO3 (where we write our own separate stuff) mine is Kasena and Kit's/Nomi's is IBelieveInAHappilyEverAfter. We'll probably finish out this book on this site, but after that don't expect book four to be published here. Happy reading! ~Kas**

* * *

"Bloody hell. He's trying to kill us." Harry's voice was soft and weak, Draco not even bothering to look up from where he was collapsed on one of the benches in the Quidditch pitch locker rooms.

Draco panted, trying to get his breath back from the absolutely _gruelling_ Quidditch practice they'd gotten back from. "I hate Gryffindors. I hate them all. I want to go back to Slytherin."

"You were never in Slytherin," one of the Weasley twins called out. Draco took a moment to focus on the magic around the twin speaking and felt warmth and excitement and, alright, Fred was talking, then. "You've been a lion cub since day one!"

"Oh, please shut up, Fred, I don't want to have to deal with any fits or tantrums or fights. I'm too exhausted to help stop anything." Draco fumbled for his wand, pointing it towards the twins.

" _Levicorpus._ " There was a shriek from whichever one he had hit that was soon followed by wild laughter from the other.

"Stop tormenting them," Harry whined. "They'll just get us back later and I don't want to have to deal with that."

" _Liberacorpus,_ " Draco huffed, letting the twin fall rather spectacularly. There was more laughter and grumbling before there was the echoing sound of a locker being slammed shut.

"If you lot still have so much energy then maybe we should go again for another practice! Our first match is coming up soon and we're still nowhere _near_ ready for it!"

"Touchy touchy, Wood."

"Look at the poor little things."

"They can hardly move!"

"We can defend ourselves," Harry complained, Draco hearing him shift and move. He was honestly surprised Harry could move _at all_ considering the last set of drills Wood had put him through. "And I think we're good on training for today, Captain. You have that test in Transfiguration Wednesday, don't you? If you don't do well enough, well… You know how McGonagall is about grades."

Draco managed to move enough to see Wood pale before grabbing his own things and quickly heading off. "We practice tomorrow, same time, same drills!"

Draco groaned quietly. "Harry. Help me up." There was a giggle of a laugh from Harry before Draco saw him, the teen looking exhausted and worn out.

"You could probably stand yourself up. I _did_ just save us from more practice, after all." That still didn't stop Draco from lifting his hands up towards Harry. "Unbelievable."

Harry slipped his hands into Draco's and began to tug him up, Draco soon sitting on the bench upright. Before he could thank Harry, he felt lips pressed against his cheek. "Harry!" Draco brushed him away with a huff, taking off his own gear quickly.

"Aw, look at the cute little things," Fred crooned. "It's enough to make one's heart burst."

"That it is, oh twin of mine. They're sickeningly sweet, aren't they?" Draco quickly took out his wand again, turning towards the two of them.

"Right. I believe we had homework to do?"

"Oh, yeah, loads of it. We should probably get on that."

"Have a nice day, you two." He didn't put his wand away until they were gone, giving a satisfied smirk once they were.

"You're awful," Harry laughed, finally tugging off his own gear and robes. "So? What do you think about training as a Chaser so far?"

"It's _awful._ " Draco huffed, wrapping himself around Harry's shoulders. "It's so much more work!"

"You're enjoying it, though," Harry laughed, half tangled in his robes as he tried to squirm free. "You wouldn't be this dramatic if you didn't."

He huffed, absently blowing his hair out of his face. "Hmph. You don't know that."

"I know you," Harry said simply, soft smile on his face as he let go of his own robes to twist in Draco's arms and push his fingers through the hair in his face. A moment later and he was kissing Draco's forehead.

" _Harry!_ " Draco pushed him away, huffing to himself and running a hand through his hair. "Do you think I should grow my hair out?"

"I… don't know." Harry let go of Draco fully, moving to see the back of his head for a moment. "I think it'd look good if you grew your hair out a little, I guess? I mean, my hair is kinda long with the curls, and it looks okay."

"But my hair doesn't have curls. Your hair is entirely different from mine, Harry." Instead of answering, Harry was only silently staring at Draco before blinking.

"Sorry, I was picturing you with curls. Didn't like it." Draco couldn't help but to laugh. Ah, Harry was so delightful, some days. "I'm serious!" Harry patted at Draco's cheek before resting his palm against the skin, smile a bit smaller, but no less real. "I like you just the way you are now."

His smile began to retreat, head tilting into the hand on his cheek. "People change, Harry. I may decide that red isn't my favorite color, anymore."

"Then I'll like the you that doesn't like red," Harry shrugged, looking unbothered. "I guess… I like you as you are now, but I'll like you when you're _not_ who you are now. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, Harry. And I like who you are, now." He took Harry's hand from his cheek, placing it down onto his knee and stroking his thumb against the back of it. "You know, you've gotten better from first year."

"What do you mean?" Harry looked back at him from where he had been looking at their hands. "Better how?"

"Well… Harry, in first year, you were so small, and you were always so _scared._ It… It was like you couldn't trust anyone or anything, like you thought the rug was going to be pulled out from underneath you any second, and…" Draco smiled at him. "You were like me."

"Yeah…" Harry's voice was hushed, something indescribable in his eyes. "I think that's why- It's-" Harry gave a startled little laugh, shaking his head. "I don't have the words for what I want to say."

"Well, try anyway." Draco was silent as he let Harry think through his words, the teen finally giving a slow nod as he leaned forward.

"I guess…" Harry leaned a bit closer. "I guess that's part of why I fell in love with you." With that, lips brushed against his own for just a few seconds. Draco could only stare in stunned silence when Harry pulled away, his breath caught in his throat. It was a few seconds more before Harry bit his lip. "Was that okay?"

"Yeah- Yeah, it- Yes- We should go." Draco had not been expecting something like _that_ right on the heels of their latest Quidditch practice.

"We should probably get changed, first," Harry laughed, finally untangling himself from Draco so he could finish pulling his Quidditch robes off.

"Right… Right." Instead of blushing or worrying like he _should be_ , Harry only gave him another smile. Right… Okay.

::

Draco found the two of them at dinner. "Blaise? Pansy? A word?"

"How dramatic is whatever you're about to tell us?" Pansy was in a stare-off with another Slytherin student. Draco would probably wonder why if he wasn't so panicked, still.

"It's important," he told her seriously. "And private." Pansy's eyes narrowed and Blaise was already looking up at him with a frown.

"Private means Harry, but how important? Did you two have a fight?"

" _No,_ we didn't have a fight," he told them primly, giving a not-so-subtle glance to the other students around them.

"If it wasn't a fight then why are you freaking out?" Pansy finally looked away from the student she was trying to intimidate, looking up to Draco and then suddenly… gasping? "Oh- _Oh_."

Draco only nodded. " _Private?_ " Pansy was getting up and dragging Blaise up in a heartbeat, grabbing both their hands and pulling them along.

"Come on, then. I know just the classroom."

It didn't take very long for them to reach the classroom, Draco throwing the lock the moment the three were inside. "He kissed me."

"Wait- What? When? Where? Tell us everything." Blaise looked to Pansy. "Hang on, how the bloody hell did you know?"

"I'm a girl, Blaise, we know these things," she huffed, flipping her hair.

"It was right after Quidditch practice earlier, we were by ourselves in the locker room, and… I had said a few things that I suppose could, in a certain light, be taken as flirtations- Then he- He told me- Oh, Merlin."

"What? What did he tell you?" Pansy was near vibrating in excitement, grin wide and beaming. "Did he confess his undying love?"

"A little. He told me he'd fallen in love with me."

"Oh, Merlin." Pansy looked shocked speechless. A shame that never lasted. "You told him your own feelings, as well, I presume?"

"I- Well- Well no," he admitted softly. Instead of supporting him and saying that it was alright, his friends instead groaned. Traitors, the pair of them. "Well- Well we don't always need to say everything-"

"This seems like something you should definitely be saying, though," Blaise groaned, rubbing at his eyes. "You went long enough without saying anything about this before, didn't you?"

"Well… Well it's not quite so simple- You'll understand when you're- When you're- Involved."

"Uh huh." Blaise didn't look very believing of that, not that Draco could blame him. Still. Best not to use the 'when you're older' line here. "So, feel free to hex me for this one, but how _do_ you feel about Harry?"

"Well, that- That is a _very_ complicated question, Blaiziel- Really, what does it mean to _feel?_ " Alright. He perhaps earned those looks, this time.

"Oh, Dray." Pansy shook her head. "You're absolutely head-over-heels for him, aren't you?"

"I… I don't know if I'd put it like that…" Draco rubbed at his arms.

"But it's true, isn't it?" It… He had always held a fond spot for Potter, of course, but Harry was someone entirely else. He'd been through his fair share of crushes and the like, but Harry was… Harry.

" _There_ you three are." Harry pushed the classroom door open. "Why are you in an empty classroom?"

"Nothing. No reason. Studying. We should go."

"Right. Talking about embarrassing things, then." Harry looked like he was trying not to laugh. "You know, lunch probably _will_ be over soon if any of you want to go eat." Draco was quick to grab Harry's hand and pull him along. They really did need to get going. "You alright? You seem… jumpy."

"I'm fine. It just… Wasn't quite the talk I'd been expecting to have with them." He sighed softly, barely even focused on where they were going.

"Doesn't seem like it was a bad talk, at least." Harry matched his pace, quiet for a moment. " _Was_ it a bad talk?"

"No, it- It wasn't _bad,_ " Draco sighed, shaking his head. "Just a little confusing?"

"To be fair, Pansy and Blaise can be pretty confusing," Harry laughed. "I'm sure you guys will work it out later, whatever it is."

"Well- It's- There really isn't anything to work out, it's just- See, they have it in their heads that I- Well, that I- It's funny-"

"Whenever you wanna start making sense, Dray." Harry was watching him with a fond smile, hand warm and tight around his.

"Pansy seemed to get it into her head that I was _head-over-heels in love_ with you!" Draco laughed weakly. "Mad, isn't she?"

Harry was silent for long enough that Draco was starting to wonder if he had somehow destroyed everything before it even started. Then Harry kissed his cheek. "I think she's pretty spot on."

"What- _Harry!_ " The other only _laughed_ at him, Harry's grin bright and absolutely stunning. Draco would never admit that part out loud, of course.

"It's okay. I know you might not be able to say that, but it's okay. I already know."

"Ha- Harry."

"I also know that you're bad with feelings in general," Harry teased, looking not at all bothered by any part of the conversation. "I'm not that great with them either, if it helps."

"Well, you're great at pretending," Draco huffed quietly. Harry only hummed, squeezing Draco's hand more tightly.

"I think that's just because it's you, you know?"

"No, I don't," he sighed. "So, can we go study? I have a bit to catch up on."

"I'm not surprised considering all those classes of yours." They weren't that bad since Draco had already taken most of them. "Dunno about studying, but I think we probably lost Blaise and Pansy."

"Actually-" Draco turned them back towards the Great Hall. "I need to study with Hermione."

"Are you still torturing her with hints about you being a time traveller?"

"A small amount." Draco smiled. "Hogsmeade is in a few days. Any plans while everyone else goes off galavanting?"

"I… I think I might go talk to Professor Lupin. You know, ask him a bit about my dad and what he was like and all that."

"That sounds nice. Is it alright if I go with you?" Draco held his hand tightly.

"I'd like that." Harry gave a small smile. "I'd like that a lot."

::

Draco stood beside Harry as they waved their friends off. "See if you can find anything nice for him!"

"We'll be back for the feast!" Pansy shouted back, walking backwards as she waved at the two of them before she was swept up in the crowd of excited students.

Turning to Harry, Draco smiled. "You wanted to go talk to Lupin?"

"Do you think he'll mind? Or be there? Teachers go into Hogsmeade all the time too, don't they? Maybe he left with the others." Oh, honestly, Harry fretted and worried about things far too much.

"Teachers are allowed to go whenever they like. Actually, I might expect him to be here more on student trip days. Werewolves have better senses."

"Werewhat." Harry was staring at him and had he… not mentioned that part, yet?

"...I wasn't supposed to say that part yet, was I?"

"Oh my god," Harry breathed, staring at him with wide eyes. "You're the worst time traveller _ever_."

"Well- You don't know that!" Draco huffed, tugging Harry along.

"You've literally revealed things that I'm not supposed to know by _accident_."

"And how many other time travellers do you know to make that assessment?"

"You're still a bad time traveller," Harry finally said, the two getting close to Lupin's office. "Okay, so, right, just, uh. I shouldn't mention or know about him being a werewolf, right?"

"Right," Draco said, shaking his head. "Alright then, knock." Harry gave him a very betrayed look before taking a steadying breath and raising his hand to knock.

"But what if he's not there?" Before Draco could answer, the door was opening and a very amused Lupin was raising an eyebrow from where he was sitting at his desk.

Draco cleared his throat a bit, looking down. "Sir."

"Boys," Lupin greeted. He still looked amused, but it was more fond rather than him laughing at them. "I thought you two would be in Hogsmeade by now."

"I'm banned." Harry tugged Draco into the room, Draco noting Lupin's surprised look. The news of Harry's banning must not have travelled yet, then. "Apparently it's 'too dangerous.'"

"Obviously, it's much more heroic and martyrish for me to stay here with him," Draco said with a nod.

"I see." Lupin's smile fell into something that Draco would almost call sad. Perhaps nostalgic was a better word? It was… hm. It was interesting. "And you decided to use your valuable time to visit me? I have to say I am honored."

Harry nodded, walking closer to the desk. "Actually, I um… I wanted to ask you a question? If that's alright?"

"Of course it is, Harry." Lupin gave a smile, closing the book he had been reading. "What is it that you wanted to ask?"

"Um- Well, um… You knew my dad?" Harry was fidgeting with his sleeves, looking down at the floor.

"I did, yes." Lupin's voice was softer, the man flicking his wand at the two chairs to scoot them out, a silent gesture that they could sit. "We were quite close." Draco pulled Harry over to sit down, giving him a reassuring smile.

"And- And Sirius Black, too." Harry was sitting down a bit nervously, Draco noticing the barest twitch of Lupin's shoulders.

"Yes… He was our friend, too."

Harry nodded, running a hand through his hair- "What were they like?"

"They… Well, they were remarkably like yourself and Draco, actually." Really? "It's honestly quite astonishing how large the similarities are."

Draco tilted his head. "Similarities like what?"

"Personality, mostly," Lupin laughed. "I'm not sure if it's coincidence or that lovely Black charm, but you speak like him very frequently, especially when Harry is nearby."

That had Draco frowning, drawing backwards. " _Pardonnez-moi?_ " While Harry startled and gave him a wide-eyed look, Lupin only _laughed_.

"You have a much better accent than he did, however!"

"What- What are you- _Excuse me?!_ "

"Sirius used to speak French, at times, but he mostly used it for show," Lupin explained, still chuckling. "His accent was atrocious at times, but I believe that's because he quit his lessons as soon as possible."

"Yes, mother has told me as such." Him. Similar to _Sirius Black._ He had heard just enough of that one to know that was an insult.

"Ah, she would remember him fondly. Sirius was always fond of her." Lupin smiled to himself before the smile fell as he turned back to Harry. "Were they any specific questions you wanted to ask?"

"Well, what can you tell me?"

"Hm…" Lupin seemed to think about it. "Transfiguration was his best subject and Minerva was his favorite professor. I'm sure she'll tell you she doesn't have favorite students, but you could always tell she loved him and our brand of, hm. Mischief, we'll say."

"Black? Or my dad?" Harry was beginning to sit forward in his seat, watching Lupin intently.

"Your dad," Lupin laughed. "Sorry, I should have specified. Sirius hated Transfiguration. He always insisted that James was charming Minerva for answers to the tests." Now Harry was grinning.

"Really? What about Defense? Or Potions? Did he ever fall asleep in History of Magic?"

"He loved Defense even if it took some extra work, he only enjoyed Potions when it came to causing trouble, and History of Magic might as well have been nap time to him." Draco couldn't help but to smile at Harry's growing excitement as he began to shoot off question after question at Lupin. He supposed this was the best source of information for Harry to learn more about his parents.

It was a nice chat and Draco was certain Harry could have gone on for an eternity asking questions if it wasn't for Sev coming in with a smoking goblet. "Ah, so this is where you two vanished."

Draco smiled, giving him a nod. "Uncle Sev." Smoking goblet… Potion? Potion for- Draco waited for the men to not be looking at them before he kicked Harry's foot. Harry, gem that he was, didn't even flinch, only looked curiously at Sev before looking to Draco, silently asking him what the kick was for. Draco only gave the goblet a significant look, glancing back at Harry again.

"Ah, thank you, Severus," Lupin stood up and accepted the goblet, making a face at it. "Pity sugar never works on this."

"Not that I don't doubt you've tried it." Ah, yes. Draco could tell Lupin had been a troublemaker. He met Sev's gaze without flinching and downed the entire goblet. Sev only rolled his eyes, turning to leave. "Don't be keeping them all night, Remus."

"Of course not. They _do_ have a curfew, after all." Severus only rose a brow at Lupin, remaining silent. "I was an unwilling participant in many wayward adventures in my youth."

"Indeed. Just as I'm certain Draco is forced into many… Wayward adventures." At Sev's dry tone, Draco could hear and see Harry doing his absolute best not to laugh.

"I'm sure he'll learn many great lessons from his adventures." Lupin caused most of the trouble, Draco was willing to bet.

Draco cleared his throat. "Uncle Sev? What were you like, as a student?" There was a long silence, Sev and Lupin both staring at him before exchanging a look and then look away.

"Severus was always very studious," Lupin finally said with a smile. "He was a master at potions even when we were young."

Draco scoffed at that, crossing his arms. "Well, _obviously._ I knew that much."

"I could be a bit steadfast in my beliefs and those beliefs tended to be influenced by those I looked up to." Sev tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "I suppose I often consorted with 'the wrong sort.'" Draco thought it over before finally nodding at this information. It wasn't exactly new information, Severus was close with his father, after all.

"We were all teenagers," Lupin gave a little laugh as he set the empty goblet down. "We were all… a bit much, at times, but we settled down as we became older."

Draco only nodded. "Of course, as is to be expected." Harry shifted closer to him and then _pinched him_.

"Ignore him, he likes to think he's more mature than the rest of us."

He huffed, kicking Harry's foot. "Shut up, I am too!"

"Oh, right, yeah, totally mature." Harry kicked him back. "You're a brat."

"I am not!" Draco swatted Harry's arm, frowning at him. "You've hardly got room to talk!"

"Wha- I'm not a brat! Name one time I've been a brat!"

"Hyperion."

"Snuffles was a great name!"

"I heard what you said to that mutt, liar!"

"Okay- Okay, so it was a really bad name, but you had so much fun fighting me about it!" Wait, what? "I mean, you love getting into silly little arguments, so I figure coming up with a stupid name for him would be the best."

"I do not love it! Do you know how incredibly stubborn you lot are?! You're supposed to just hand everything to me on a silver platter!" There was a suppressed sound of _laughter_ , Draco shooting his head around to see Sev and Lupin both had on politely detached smiles.

"Remus, I believe I'll leave you to your Gryffindors."

"Thank you, Severus." Remus was smiling at him before glancing back to the boys.

"I still resent that."

"Is there anything you don't resent, though?"

"Would you shut up?!"

"Where would the fun in that be?" Harry grinned, reaching out to grab Draco's sleeve and give it a little tug. "Hyperion _is_ a better name, though."

"You act like I don't already know that," he said with a roll of his eyes. "That's why I named him."

"Is this 'Hyperion' a pet of yours, then?" Lupin asked curiously, Sev taking the goblet and leaving the room.

"Ah… Somewhat? Harry and I found a stray dog over the summer at the Manor, and took care of him.'

"Really?" Lupin raised an eyebrow at that, looking between the two. "I didn't think stray animals would even be able to get on the grounds of your Manor with the old spells placed on it."

Draco gave a helpless shrug. "I hadn't thought so either, and I can't remember it ever happening before, but he was friendly enough."

"I see. At least you'll have a friend waiting for you two when summer arrives and school ends." While Draco managed to keep perfectly still and innocent, Harry shifted a touch nervously - no doubt he was guilty about the fact he was lying to one of his new favorite professors.

"Actually, we plan to go back for winter holidays," Draco said pleasantly. Lupin gave them a bit longer of a look before slowly nodding.

"Of course." Whatever he was suspicious about he seemed to put aside, turning to smile at Harry. "You're always welcome to ask more questions, as well, Harry."

"Oh, uh, thanks- What about my mom?" As Harry asked, Draco settled back in his seat and resigned himself to the fact that they would be there for a while. It didn't seem like such a bad thing.

::

"Looks like everyone is still out at Hogsmeade." Harry was looking out the common room window and out towards the grounds. "Isn't Halloween supposed to be a big deal in the wizard world?"

Draco nodded, though he knew Harry couldn't see. "It is. In all the old tales, the veil between life and death lifts on the night of Samhain, and they always say that wizards and witches are more in touch with their magic this night, than any other. Mother always took it as a wonderful excuse to hold extravagant masquerade balls."

"I think she'll throw a ball over any excuse," Harry laughed, eyes wide and bright as he watched the sun start to set. "The sun sets a lot earlier this time of year, but the sunsets are pretty great, aren't they?"

"They are, yes." Watching Harry, he stood to stand beside him. "It sets your hair on fire." Harry touched a hand to his hair instinctively, nose wrinkling.

"I wouldn't go that far." He glanced to Draco, smile settling into something a little softer. "You really miss those dances your mom threw, huh?"

"There were always three I would never miss. My birthday, Yule Tide, and Samhain. They're each my favorite for different reasons."

"Why was Samhain your favorite?"

"Well, as a child, it always meant dressing up, and having all the adults fawn over me over how precious I was, at that age. I haven't attended one since I was ten."

"And for you that was a long time ago," Harry said quietly, the two silent as they went back to watching the sun. "Well! I don't know about costumes, but we can at least do some of the ball."

Draco laughed, turning back to him. "Harry, what are you talking about?"

"Okay, so, there's not music, but bare with me, here." Harry stepped forward and grabbed Draco's hands before pulling him into a familiar position.

"Harry James Potter. Are you volunteering yourself to dance with me?"

"I know, I'm so Gryffindor," Harry sighed with 'regret,' close to laughter. "I'll only dance when it comes to you." Draco couldn't help himself from leaning close and quickly pecking Harry's cheek, smiling brightly at him.

"Well? Come on, then. I haven't even taught you the fun ones, yet!" Harry's face was a bright red, but his grin was delighted and he was tightening the hand that was holding Draco's own.

"That sounds like a great way to spend today."

Draco wasn't sure how long they were dancing, but he was distracted when he heard laughter and he looked to see Hermione and Ron coming in with the other Gryffindors. The Hogsmeade trip must have been over, then. "Ah, Weasley, come on, you should know this one!"

"Oh, no. No, no, no, you are not making me dance when I don't have to. I did those dances enough as a kid!"

"No no no, these aren't any regular waltzes, come on- Hermione, I can teach you, too!"

"I'd love to learn!" Hermione seemed delighted and Draco saw some of the fifth years talking before music started up.

"Told you I could get it working!" Ah, one of them must have found an old gramophone.

"There we are! Come on, then, it's not so hard, just follow me!" Some older ones were jumping in at once and Draco saw the twins spinning past with Johnson and Bell and all four were laughing up a storm. Draco joined in with the laughter as Hermione dragged Ron to dance with them, the room quickly getting crowded as more students joined them.

"Looks like you get your Samhain balls back," Harry said quietly, watching him with a warm and soft smile.

Draco couldn't help but to giggle quietly. "Not exactly, but in a way."

"Not so bad a Halloween, then, I think."


End file.
